James 'Jim' Kirchner
James Edward Kirchner (Jim), 90, died Thursday, Oct. 26, 2013 at the Regency Care Center in South Sioux City, NE. He was surrounded by Janet, his loving wife of 71 years, and his two daughters, Pat Wojcik and Joyce Hammerstrom.
Services will be held Saturday, Nov.18 at the Mohr and Becker-Hunt Funeral Home, 1431 West 29th Street, South Sioux City. Visitation with the family present will begin at 11 a.m. with services at 11:30. Lunch will be served immediately following the service in the social hall at Mohr and Becker-Hunt. Burial will be at a later date.
Arrangements are with Mohr and Becker-Hunt Funeral Home in South Sioux City.
James Edward Kirchner was born in Wakefield on May 15, 1933 to Edward and Bonnell (Meyer) Kirchner. He was the oldest of three children, having two sisters JoAnn (Kirchner) Hattig and Jeanette (Kirchner) Dolph. He was raised on a farm close to Concord, and graduated from Concord High School in 1951. He was active in sports, playing basketball and baseball. But the real passion of his life was farming.
On a blind date in January of 1951 he met his soulmate, Janet Fegley of Dixon and they were married on June 6, 1952. Jim and Janet farmed in the Concord area until moving to South Sioux City in January of 1971 where he worked at Wilson Concrete until his retirement in 1992. The couple had four children Jim, Kurtis, Patricia and Joyce. They attended the First Evangelical Free Church of Sioux City.
Everyone who knew Jim realized the old saying “you can take the man out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the man”. He passionately stayed attached to farming throughout his life, intently following every growing season. Neighbors around Jim and Janet’s South Sioux City home saw the farmer in him each year as he grew flowers and vegetables around their house. One year he successfully planted and grew cotton from seeds brought back from the winter spent in Arizona and was highlighted in the Dakota County Star for the accomplishment of growing cotton in Nebraska. But the true evidence of his farming roots was his love for everything John Deere. He collected John Deere tractor model replicas and loved to wear his John Deere shirts and caps.
Survivors include his loving wife, Janet; his sons, Jim (Dee) Kirchner of Lincoln, Kurtis Kirchner of Aurora, Colorado, and daughters Patricia (Mike) Wojcik of South Sioux City and Joyce Hammerstrom also of South Sioux City and his sister Jeanette (Dick) Dolph of Geneva. Jim and Janet have nine grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Global Assist. www.goglobalassist.org or PO Box 57393, Lincoln, Neb. 68505
