Charles "Jim" Fedderly
“These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall…Upon us all a little rain must fall.”
-Led Zeppelin
For years there was a recliner in the home of Jim and Lois Fedderly that sat empty. There was simply nobody to sit in it, because for years Jim was out and about doing what he loved most and what he loved most always followed the changing seasons.
In the springtime as new life blossomed from the earth he would make sure he was the first one to find a patch of wild asparagus. His summers were spent in the water instilling fear into any and all fish-especially trout-that dared cross his line. During the autumn months he would give the fish a rest and pass that threat onto the white tails of Wisconsin’s woods. As the winter months arrived Jim could be found snowmobiling with his best friends Mike and Karen Falls or keeping warm with a cold beer. Throughout all the seasons he could be found in his workshop occupied with wood crafting. It began as a hobby and developed into a passion, the evidence of the gift he had hangs on walls around the state and beyond. He treated his craft much like he lived his life. It began with an innate natural talent and grew through self education. He chose to create his own patterns instead of using those of other people and he proceeded to build his creations and his life with his own two hands.
He used those strong hands to build a 51 year marriage to his loving wife, Lois and raise two sons, living each of those years with his trademark stubborn passion with each passing season until eventually cancer targeted him as its victim. All of a sudden that chair wasn’t empty anymore. For three and a half long years, or fourteen marked seasons, Jim endured the horrors of chemotherapy with a humor and determination that had made up his life, often delighting the nurses Heidi, Laura, and Jody who cared for him along with Lois as he fought his battle. He sat in his chair with his faithful companion, Buddy by his side as he watched out the picture window as the seasons changed without him doing what he loved most. As he watched the trees blossom, birds built nests then leave again, the snow fall and eventually melt, and time slip away he held on tightly to his memories and his wife to whom he would often say, “We’ll beat this thing called cancer, won’t we?”
Jim may not have beaten cancer but he left it badly bent.
With each passing season Jim lost one more activity that he loved, but he never lost sight of who he was. Always independent, he was a man who made his own pattern for life and lived that life on his terms. Strong willed in both in life and death, Jim never gave up…He simply decided that this spring it was time to move on to a better fishing spot.
Jim leaves behind him a wife who adored him, Lois Fedderly. Two sons, Dan (Julie) and Tony (Darla) Fedderly, Grandchildren Morgan (Steve) Fedderly, Ashley (Pete) Score, Joshua Fedderly, Jeremy (Justine) Fedderly, Tonya Fedderly and Garrett Fedderly. Great Granddaughter, Layla Score, Sister Pat (Jerome) Draeger, Barb (Stanley) Prochnow, Mother in Law, Nora Kliest, several nieces and nephews. His best friends Mike and Karen Falls, and his constant companion, Buddy who never left his side. He was preceded in death by his parents William and Agnes Fedderly, Sister Rosemary Hotter, and an infant brother.
At Jim’s request, a private family service will be held at a later date as the seasons change.
Rhiel Funeral Home & Cremation Services-Menomonie is serving the family.