James J. Oelke

Jim was born November 17, 1944, in Blue Earth, the son of John and Charlotte (Bulfer) Oelke. He was raised and educated in Blue Earth where he was a 1963 graduate of Blue Earth High School. Following school he farmed SE of Blue Earth and near Fairmont. He was married to Debra S. Shivers on November 29, 1975 in Blue Earth. They continued to farm until he began to work for the Blue Earth Farmers Elevator in the mid 1980s. Jim continued to work at the elevator, now Wantonwan Farm Service, in various capacities, including as a fuel delivery trucker, for many years, retiring just this summer. Jim was a longtime member of SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church where he was a longtime usher and active in the Knights of Columbus. He was also a member of the Blue Earth Snow Rovers and helped construct their meeting house. He enjoyed spending the past 10 summers living at Dawsons Camp Ground where he spent a lot of his time giving four-wheeler rides to the local kids, watching old westerns on TV, and catching the Twins and Vikings games. One of his favorite hobbies was building and restoring models of John Deere tractors. He especially enjoyed time with his family and fishing and hunting with his children. Jim is survived by his wife, Debra Oelke of Blue Earth, his son, Jamie (& Jennifer) Oelke and their daughter, Madison of Winnebago, his son, Jeffrey (& Maria) Oelke of Indianapolis, Indiana, his brother, Robert (& Beth) Oelke of Bemidji, his brother in law, Johnny Shivers of Dayton, Ohio, his sister in law, Carloyn Minnich of Dayton, his nephews, Michael & Thomas Oelke and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Charlotte (Bulfer) Oelke.