James William Fenner

James W. Fenner, age 88, passed away at on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac. He was born on December 22, 1935 to the late Leona (Ter Maat) and William Fenner, and was raised in Sheboygan Falls on a farm on Hwy 28. He graduated from Sheboygan Falls High School in 1954. Following graduation, Jim served two years in the U.S. Army from November 1958 to November 1960. During his time in the Army, he was stationed at Fort Myers, Virginia in the Courier Service at the Pentagon. 

On November 27, 1965, he married Sharon Smith. They had two children, Christine (Nathan Keeney) Fenner and Carla (Brian) Leuck, and one grandchild, Madeline Li Elizabeth. After he and Sharon were married, they built a home in the Town of Lima. Jim’s daughters kept him busy with their many high school activities. He and Sharon would travel back and forth from home to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, the University of DePaul Law School in Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire. During their years living in Sheboygan Falls, Jim worked for Richardson Industries, earning his well-deserved retirement in 2005 after 50 years of retail sales. Jim was affiliated with the Sheboygan Contractor’s Association, was the President of the Sheboygan Falls Lions Club, a member of the Town of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department, and a member of the Sheboygan Elks Lodge. 

In 1996, he and Sharon built a permanent home at their cottage property at Wolf Lake in Fond du Lac County. Jim was involved in the community there as well, spending several years as President of the Wolf Lake Cottage Owner’s Association. After completing work on the rental properties they owned and selling them, Jim was given an opportunity to work at the Fond du Lac Health Care Center with some very special people. The highlight of his activities included great Sheepshead games and creating many woodworking projects with their help. 

Jim enjoyed many years of traveling to the Minocqua and St. Germaine areas to deer hunt. As a small child, he had enjoyed many trips to Wolf Lake with his family. This started a life-long enjoyment of lake life; in fact, Jim built the first water ski jump the lake had ever seen, and put on shows many Sundays for the cottage owners.

Jim and Sharon also loved to travel. Their travels included a memory trip to Washington D.C. to visit the Pentagon, Knoxville, Tennessee for the World’s Fair, San Francisco’s Wine Country, and two weeks in Hawaii. They also traveled internationally, visiting Ireland, England, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Costa Rica, Jamaica and many trips to the Caribbean.

Jim is survived by his children, Christine (Nathan Keeney) Fenner and Carla (Brian) Leuck, granddaughter Madeline Li Elizabeth Leuck, and sister-in-law Marcia Fenner. He is further survived by many other relatives and friends.

In addition to his parents, Jim is preceded in death by his wife Sharon, brother Donald Fenner, sister Lucille Albrecht, and brother-in-law Willard Albrecht.

Burial will be private.