James Loechler

James “Jim” Loechler, 92, passed peacefully in his sleep on August 8, 2022. Jim was born on April 14, 1930 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to parents Jacob Loechler and Isabel Blank. Jim and his brother Dick grew up in a close-knit web of step- and half-siblings. Jim attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and was selected for the draft in February 1949. After giving up his Korean pet alligator, he was honorably discharged and graduated college with a B.S. in Mathematics in 1954. In 1961, he married the love of his life Rose Ann Merckle with whom he had three daughters - Laura Ann, Julia Marie, and Paula Jean. Professionally, Jim was a computer, and his job took his family all around the United States. On occasion, he was required to travel abroad to the Middle East where he built an amusement park in Saudi Arabia… or so he told his daughters. Jim loved to garden and took great pride in his homegrown tomatoes. He was a loyal fan of old Westerns and the Washington Redskins, and he was an avid critic of the weatherman, which he bemoaned in his famous daily emails. Jim was a kind, often quiet, man who read the newspaper comics every morning, always asked for prime rib at a steakhouse, and signed off his correspondences with “Give the doggies a pat on the head for me!!”. Rejoining his beloved wife’s side in heaven after a year apart, Jim is survived by his half-siblings Bob, Mary, and Liz; his daughters Laura, Julie, and Paula; and his four grandchildren (Nick, Brianna, Sophia, and Zoe “Finley“). He will be dearly missed.