James Jacob Laughlin

James Jacob Laughlin, 70, passed away on the morning of December 15, 2014, in rural
Colorado from heart failure. Jim was a long-haul truck driver who died doing what he
loved and pulled his rig off the road safely before leaving us. He was lately of Appleton,
WI.

Jim was born September 5, 1944, in Kansas City, Missouri and was raised in Beloit, WI,
where he attended Beloit Catholic High School (1962). He graduated with a Bachelor
of Science in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater
in 1967 and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He began his professional
career in Wisconsin with Red Lantern Pizza, which took him to California, where he later
worked with Howard Johnson Restaurants. He returned to Wisconsin in 1972.

Living in Oshkosh and Green Bay, he worked many years in the restaurant industry,
including being a principal partner in Mars Restaurants and Baxter’s Food & Spirits of
Eastern Wisconsin as well as Munchwerkes Provisioners at Road America. He was
on the Convention and Tourism Board of Oshkosh from 1977 to 1982, and was also a
member of the National Restaurant Association. He also lived in Manitowoc, where
he enjoyed working in sales with the Cawley company, and later worked for Heartland
Originals in Elkhart Lake. He had been trucking since 1998 with Falcon Transport of
Elkhart Lake.

Jim was an active supporter of the arts, having played trumpet in his high school band
and jazz band, and had been a member of the symphony boards of Green Bay and
Manitowoc. He was also a member of the Sports Car Club of America and the National
Rifle Association.

If you met JJL once or a hundred times, you probably walked away with at least a smile
on your face, if not a chuckle. Jimmy was an amazing storyteller and loved to laugh.
He had incredible faith in his family and friends and was the one to lean on. He worked
hard and played hard, blending his love of entrepreneurship with his love of travel and
hospitality.

Jim is survived by his son, Erin Quick-Laughlin (Annie), grandchildren Drake, Sophie,
and Simone, of Appleton, WI, and his daughter, Kelly Banasik (Dan), grandchildren
Jacob, Lillian, and Ella of Eagan, MN. He is survived by his siblings, Alice Wirt
Andryc of Saline, MI, Maureen Ellerbrock (Robert) of Grafton, WI, Tom Laughlin
II, of Milwaukee, WI, Peter Laughlin, of Brazoria, TX, brother-in-law Jon Parris, of
Geneva, IL, and the mother of his children, Elizabeth (Sam) Adams of Oshkosh, WI
and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Additionally, he is
survived by dear friends of the family Dana and Becky Jensen, of Elkhart Lake, WI. Jim
was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas and Alice (Graffitt) Laughlin, his sisters
Mary Yockey and Kathleen Parris, and brothers in-law Barrie Wirt, Kenneth Yockey and
Jim Andryc.

We will miss his sense of humor and his stories. There was no better man with whom
to share a drink and a bratwurst.

A memorial service will be held in the summer, on Saturday morning, July 18, 2015 near
Elkhart Lake, WI. Contact the family for details.

A memorial fund has been established in his name at YouCaring.com under James J. Laughlin.

http://www.youcaring.com/memorial-fundraiser/james-j-laughlin-memorial-fund/281397