James Thode

JAMES ELDON THODE was born to Clarence Claus and Evelyn (Swenson) Thode on February 8, 1957 in Luverne, Minnesota. He was raised on a farm in Denver Township of Rock County, Minnesota, and he attended school in Luverne. After his graduation from Luverne High School in 1975, he completed his education at Minnesota West Technical College in Pipestone, Minnesota. At that time, he started farming with his father. He also worked at A.R. Woods Manufacturing in Luverne for a number of years. On September 3, 1983, he married Gayl Willey at First Presbyterian Church in Pipestone. Following their marriage, they lived in Jasper, Minnesota, and Jim worked at Tri-State Silo in Jasper until this closed and Kermit Skorr took over and he worked with him. In 1989, he began working at Bayliner Marine in Pipestone. He worked there until 1993 when he became a dedicated full-time farmer with the establishment of Bacon Valley Farms. On Monday, August 15, 2016, he died at Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the age of 59 years, six months and seven days.

Jim was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne in March, 1957, and was confirmed there in October, 1973. While living in Pipestone, he was a member of First Lutheran Church. During high school, he was an active member of FFA. He was also a Farm Bureau member and a member of the Texas Longhorn Association. He enjoyed bowling and fishing. He collected farm toys, and he had recently started collecting two cylinder John Deere tractors. He enjoyed pulling a good prank with his kids. He thoroughly enjoyed spending time having fun with his family and his friends. He was born a farmer and was dedicated to taking care of his land, his livestock and his garden.

He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Gayl Thode of Pipestone, his children, Michael (Jennifer) Thode, Mark Thode, Laura Thode, and Krista (special friend Tylan) Thode, all of Pipestone, and Josh Hellwinckel whom he thought of as his third son; his grandson Connor who called Jim “Papa”; his mother, Evelyn Thode of Luverne, Minnesota; his siblings, Gerald (Mary) Thode of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Pam Schmidt of Tea, South Dakota, Joyce (Larry Mulvihill) Thode of Luverne, Minnesota, and Brian (Rita) Thode of Jasper, Minnesota; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He is preceded in death by his father; his parents-in-law, Kenneth and Jylan Willey; his brother-in-law, Johnny Schmidt; his brother-in-law, Alan Willey; and his nephew, Mathew Thode.