James L. “Jim” Valiquette, age 66, died the evening of June 26, 2008 at his home in Ensign, with his family at his side, following a brief fight with cancer.
James was born April 18, 1942, in Garden, to the late John J. and Cecilia (Cota) Valiquette.
He was raised in Garden and Gladstone and attended the All Saints Catholic School and Gladstone High School. He was united in marriage to Jean Cormier in 1961. Together Jim and Jean made their home in Escanaba where they raised their six children. They later divorced, but remained close friends.
Jim worked for two years on the JL Block Iron Ore Boat and for the Bay De Noc Oil Company until 1968, when he accepted a position with the Mead Paper Company. He retired from Mead in 2004 after 36 years of employment as a tool crib operator. He was a member of the Mead 30-Year Club, Wildlife Unlimited and the Gladstone Dartball League. He also raced stock cars with his brothers in the early 70’s.
Jim loved the outdoors and spending time in the woods where he felt most at ease. For the past 20 years, he has lived at his camp in Ensign with long-time companion Mary Viau, where he could spend time watching and feeding the animals, growing his own food and cutting wood. A lover of the land, Jim lived a “green life,” before going green became a trend. Most recently he lived his dream of installing a windmill and implementing solar panels to generate electricity into his camp.
His hobbies included hunting, fishing and farming his land. You could always count on Jim being seen with his “40 oz. buddy.” He also enjoyed documenting the day’s events and was an avid coin and hunting patch collector. He treasured spending time with his children and watching his grandchildren grow.
In addition to his companion of 25 years, Mary Viau, survivors include:
Three sons: David (Nancy) Mitchell of Kankakee, Ill.; Patrick “PJ” (Debbie) Valiquette of Gladstone; James R. Valiquette of Denver, Colo.
Four daughters: Sandra (Robert) Mayrand of Waterford, Wis.; Peggy (Mark Coyne) Mortl of Gladstone; Carrie (Dan) Schaut of Muskego, Wis.; Lacey Kinnart, Milwaukee, Wis.
Eight brothers: Marvin (Ethel) Valiquette of Hyde; Dwain (Pat) Valiquette, of Garden; Orvis (Joanne) Valiquette of Gladstone; John “Jake” (Sue) Valiquette of Soo Hill; Darrell Valiquette of Kipling; Kerry “Joe” (Pat) of Soo Hill; Keith Valiquette of Madison, Wis.; Richard (Toni) Valiquette of Gladstone
One sister: Verna (Ronald) Jaeger of Gladstone
15 grandchildren, four great grandchildren, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Special dog “Lady”
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by an infant brother Ronald, his brother Harlan and infant sister Mary.
Jim’s family will receive friends on Tuesday July 1, 2008 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Skradski Funeral Home in Gladstone. Funeral services celebrating the life of James L. Valiquette will follow at 6 p.m. at the Skradski Funeral Home with Rev. Fr. Emmett Norden officiating. Burial will be at the Fernwood Cemetery in Gladstone. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Jim may be directed to the family for an organization to be named at a later date.
