Jim McIntyre

Jim McIntyre passed away unexpectedly of natural causes in his home on December 13, just over three months after he lost his younger brother John to Covid-19. Jim’s beloved rescue dachshund Henri was at his side when he passed. In fact, Henri, who is just as stubborn as his owner was, refused to leave and had to be carried away. He was born at Madison General Hospital on March 4, 1960 to Thomas and Joyce McIntyre. Jim was allowed to command the stage for a brief while before his brother John joined him in 1962. The two boys were adept at climbing trees, building snow forts, and being helpful. An example is the time they decided to help their dad out by using the water pump on the farm and a hose to fill the gas tank on the car. The boys were later followed by younger sister Jody, who wanted to keep up with them in climbing trees and other sports, and little sister Jeri came along several years later. As a kid on “the old Spear farm” on County Hwy G outside of Wyocena, Jim spent countless hours riding his minibike, driving the Swamp Fox (a six-wheeled ATV) with room for the entire gang of kids and friends, and of course, snowmobiling. (Back when we had reliable, real snow, and there was an Arctic Cat snowmobile dealership in Wyocena.) He would also go fishing in Duck Creek and other places. But Duck Creek was a favorite because you could hang out with the residents of the Wyocena Nursing Home where his parents worked and fish with them on the beautiful grounds. The original nursing home was a big, beautiful brick building. Jim and his siblings were allowed free range of the nursing home for a time. Favorite activities included visiting the patients, following the parents around, and of course staging wheelchair races down the long hallways. At home, it was an annual Christmas tradition to smash their little sister Jody’s new toy guitars as quickly as they were unwrapped. This event was a Jim and John festival known as “El Kabong,” where the boys would chase around the house yelling “EL KABONG!” They would hit each other over the head with the instrument until it broke while their little sister screamed for them to stop. The tradition slowed as the toy guitars got smaller each year, until the final tiny ukulele, which didn’t even last long enough for an “El!” before it was smashed to smithereens. Not surprisingly, only the best and the brightest people could babysit him and his siblings, like the Roundys, and any rookie would surely be played for a fool with a prank. But if the children were all really good, then they could have “Chuck burgers” from the Wyocena Bar. And money for the jukebox there, which of course had Buck Owens, Kitty Wells, and Charlie Pride on it. Jim spent most of his school years in Pardeeville, where he played on the football team and was very active in FFA. He also worked many hours before school most days, getting up to help with chores on local farms. He continued that type of work for a while after high school before eventually working for businesses such as Crown Cable and Cleary Building Corp. He was an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers, from the time he was old enough to follow along in the mid-60’s, through the Dan Devine era, the mediocre 70s, the awful 80s, and on until finally his patience was rewarded starting with Brett Favre onward. Jim was a big collector of Packer memorabilia and lived for the football games along with so many of his friends. He also enjoyed the Milwaukee Brewers, planting the Brew Crew flag in the summer on his patio, and of course having a Bob Uecker bobblehead in his collection. He also had many friends at his beloved Duck Creek Campground, where he had a trailer for many years. Jim would give you the shirt off his back. And his snowblower. And the riding lawn mower. You name it, and he’d share it whether he could afford it to or not. Mostly not. He is survived by his sisters Jeri and Jody and their spouses, as well as nieces and nephews, and a ton of cousins. He was preceded in death by brother John, his parents, and an infant son. The family would like to thank the first responders with the City of Pardeeville as well as the Pardeeville Veterinary Hospital. As it turns out, Henri’s story has a happy ending. Thanks to the staff at the pet clinic, Henri the dachshund almost immediately found a loving home to spend his final years. We are sure he will be spoiled and loved in the manner to which he has become accustomed, although probably with quite a bit more exercise as Henri now has some doggie siblings to hang with. We’d also like to thank Columbia County ADRC for staying in touch with Jim as they worked to get him some support to manage his household. And a very special thank you to Daryl and all the neighbors who helped Jim and us as we dealt with the aftermath of his death. They saw a diamond under the rough and often demanding surface of their friend and fellow Packer fan. Even if that diamond might pound on the wall of his apartment at odd hours, just to see if you were awake. And of course, many thanks to his childhood friends, who will miss this often irascible being who could occasionally toss out some wildly funny sayings, none of which should probably be repeated in print - or on audio for that matter. The family is planning for a get-together in the area for friends of both Jim and John sometime in the spring, hopefully at the Wyocena Bar, as is proper in these situations with small town folks who love you in spite of yourself. Details are pending. Jim and John came into the world close together, and departed it in an even smaller window of time together, leaving an awful hole to fill.