James Thomas Reuteler

Born on November 25, 1935, Jim was the second of 10 children born to Felix Herbert Reuteler and Evelyn Rose (Smith) Reuteler in Watertown, Wisconsin. He had one brother and eight sisters. He is preceded in death by both his parents Felix and Evelyn, by his baby sister Gale, his brother Philip Reuteler and three sisters: Mary (Reuteler) Jacobson, Joan Reuteler and Susan (Reuteler) Behling. He is survived by his sisters Nancy Reuteler, Carol (Reuteler) McCool, Pat (Reuteler) Duncan and Jean (Reuteler) Werth. He is survived by his wife Barbara Ann (Russell) Reuteler, his son David Martin Reuteler, daughter Jane Reuteler- Schmid and her husband David Charles Schmid.

Jim and all his siblings were born in the same hospital at Watertown, Wisconsin. His family lived in Lebanon then Helenville, Wisconsin. They moved in Jim’s senior year of High School to West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. High school did not interest him much and he enjoyed repairing stock cars and racing with his friends.

Out of High School Jim enrolled in the Air National Guard where he served for eight years. He also received an apprenticeship with Kearney and Trecker, where his father worked, making tools for milling machines. After a few years he was asked to go to Texas as a service man, and later as a salesman for the milling machines.

During his time in Texas, he lived in a rooming house with three other young men. One of them invited him to go to church, which he did. His involvement lead him to a conversion experience that changed the course of his life forever. He got very involved in Sunday School, Youth Fellowship, and the TNT group (Twenty Not Thirty). After a while he felt called to go into the ministry so he talked to the minister at his church. He also felt called to become a missionary.

A visit to Texas Wesleyan University proved to bring him a challenge. He had not done well in High School so he was accepted and put on probation. If he could do the work he could continue. He worked very hard and at the end of that first semester he was on the Dean’s list. He graduated Magna Cum Laude. Meanwhile he had given up his job as a salesman with Kearney and Trecker so he asked to be appointed to serve in Methodist churches. He served several small churches during that time in Texas, and had some very interesting and inspiring experiences. One Sunday morning he arrived at his new church to find that the building slid off it’s foundation during a rain storm the previous night. The day was spent putting the church back on it’s foundation

Next he went to Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. As a seminary student he served small churches in the mountains in north Georgia. After seminary he attended Missionary training at Stoney Point in New York and was asked if he would go to Sarawak, Malaysia, to teach in the Methodist Theological Seminary in Sibu, working among the Iban people. Most Ibans did not speak English so his first challenge was to learn to speak their language and become familiar with the life and ways of the Ibans and the Iban Methodist Church.

Upon arrival in Sarawak, Jim started language study. After six months of immersion into the language he began teaching in the seminary and traveling with the students on their student appointments to remote Iban communities. He loved working with the Iban people and learning their ways. The Ibans are lovely people and accepted his teaching, which included Old and New Testament, Church History and out-board motor repair. Many of the students have to travel on the rivers and it was important that they know how to maintain their engines.

In 1968, Jim met the person that was to become his wife. She was a missionary from Australia working as a nurse with the Iban people. Both were convinced that God had brought them together. Before too long, they were married. The following year their first child, David, was born and their second child, Jane, was born thirteen months later.

During furlough in mid-1971 to mid-1973, Jim did the class room work for a Ph.D. at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Upon returning to Sarawak in 1973 he began a daily routine of getting up every morning at 5:00 am to work on his thesis before starting his day teaching and working with the Iban people. During this second term he was appointed Acting Principal at the Seminary.

In 1976, he returned to Wisconsin. He spent the first year preaching and teaching in churches about the Mission of the Church. In 1977, he was appointed by the Wisconsin Conference of the UMC to serve Our Lord’s United Methodist Church (UMC) in New Berlin, WI. Every day he continued to get up at 5:00 am to work on his thesis. A very kind lady in the congregation volunteered to type it for him (no computers in those days)!

He graduated in 1979, with his Ph.D. in Christian Social Ethics, Theological Ethics, New Testament, Church History, and Systematic Theology. He was examined in all these topics. After completing his Ph.D. he announced in church one Sunday morning, “I have a Ph.D. but I am Biblically illiterate. I am going to start an in-depth study of the Bible. If you are interested in joining me, come tonight at 6:00 pm.” That first night about 12 people arrived and before long he was teaching three groups a week.

Jim developed handouts that became the basis for his Six Year Intensive Bible Study which he taught at each of the four churches he served in Wisconsin. He expanded it to a seventh year with a study of the Apocrypha. He eventually compiled and published these books in retirement, along with more than twenty other books that he had been working on and teaching during his active ministry. After the first time teaching the full six years Jim submitted his Bible Study course to Cokesbury for publication. They said it was very good but they had just committed to The Disciple Bible Study series. Jim’s books, including his recently published Memories, are available on Amazon.com by just typing in his name.

During his active ministry, Jim was always an avid Bible teacher and preacher. He also advocated for missions including the Iban Church in Sarawak. He worked with local and international programs that help people become self-sufficient in food by working with the poor and those devastated by disaster, war, and famine. He also worked with Habitat for Humanity. As well as serving Our Lord’s UMC in New Berlin, Jim also served First Church in Oconomowoc WI, First UMC in Neenah, WI, and Covenant UMC in Fond du Lac, WI.

After his 65th birthday Jim retired and moved with his wife Barbara to Colorado where their daughter and his brother Philip were living. In retirement he developed a passion for working with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. For many years, he chaired the Loaves and Fishes Coalition, raising money and building about twenty homes in the Denver area and Mexico. He also served as chair of the Speakers Bureau, did volunteer training and more. During that time he developed the audio visual materials used for teaching and publicity. It was during this same time that he started working at Grace United Methodist Church in Denver doing adult education and using his six year Bible Study materials.

In Colorado, he lived in Littleton, Aurora, Arvada, and Lakewood and attended local UMCs where he taught at every available opportunity. In 2020, he moved to Brookdale Meridian Independent Living in Lakewood, moving in just a week before the COVID lock-down. What a blessing that was!!

People have said his dedication to the Christian Faith, Bible teaching and his preaching have been an inspiration to them, that he was a gentle man who always listened, very knowledgeable, always smiling, and Oh that love for Cherry pie. One lady said, “He is probably up there now trying to convince an angel to make him a Cherry Pie.”

In 2010, Jim had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, which gradually took hold of his body causing difficulty in walking and frequent falls. Gradually over time, it took away his memory, his ability to talk, and ultimately his ability to swallow. He died on Friday, January 12th, 2024, at Brookdale Health Center under Hospice Care. Jim worked to get his last book finished while he was still able. “Memories: My Life and Experiences” went to the publishers just a month before he died. This book, like his other books, is available on Amazon.com by just typing in his name.

His son David was not able to be with his Dad at the end of Jim’s life because he had fallen and fractured a vertebrae in his neck. The doctor said it would be too dangerous for him to travel. David was promised that we would not have the Celebration of Jim’s Life until David could be present. David had his surgery on March 11th and at the time of this mailing he is making good progress.

People wanting to make memorial gifts in Jim’s memory may designate checks to Habitat Metro Denver, P.O. Box 5202, Denver, CO 80217. Write “in honor of Jim Reuteler”on the memo line.

The service will be shown online and a link will be made on the web site under Jim’s Obituary at CrownHillFuneral.com.

I have gone into more detail than usual because we have so many friends around the world who will not be able to celebrate with us. I would like them to be able to celebrate the rest of the story….

Jim was a great man and brought me a lot of joy and learning. Our children, David and Jane, and Jane’s husband David, have been a great joy and help to both of us.