James Harold Schlichting, age 80, of Kenosha passed away on Thursday, June 7, 2018 at Aurora Hospital, surrounded by his loving family after a short, courageous fight with cancer.

James was born on May 28, 1938 in Chicago, IL, and was the son of the late Harold and May Schlichting.   James graduated from Bradford High School in 1956, and shortly after joined the Navy where he served from 1957-1959 and was stationed in CA.

He married his high school sweetheart, Lois Hartnell, on September 7, 1957 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. After his service in the Navy, James and Lois returned to Kenosha to raise their family.

James was a hard-working man, sometimes having two jobs to support his family. He made a career as a TV repairman and retired from a successful career at Motorola in 2000.

After retirement, James kept busy as an active member of St. Paul’s Church, often volunteering at local community centers including the soup kitchen.

James had property in northern Wisconsin where he built several houses by hand and enjoyed spending time with family. His most recent passion was his award winning work with the local cable station, often volunteering multiple times a week to record and direct shows for Channel 14.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lois; his two daughters, Debra (Jeff) Sherman and Laura (Brett) Schaefer; his grandchildren, Brett (Sally) Schaefer, Jennifer Kasparian, Andrew (Khamsao Yang) Schaefer, Jessica (Brandon) Phillips, Amanda (Jake) Zalokar, and Kate Sherman.

James is further survived by his siblings, David (Ellen) Schlichting, Harold (Delores) Schlichting, and Jan (Ken) Lock; and his dedicated nephew, Craig Hartnell.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his son, James Joseph Schlichting, and his great-grandson, Jon Alan Schaefer.

The family would like to thank the staff at Aurora’s Vince Lombardi Cancer Center for their help and compassionate care.

Our hearts are with James as he begins his new chapter.

Service Info

Funeral Services honoring James’ life will be held on Sunday, June 10, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. at the Piasecki-Althaus Funeral Home, 3720 39th Avenue. Private inurnment will be take place at a later date.