James Goodrich Obituary

James H. Goodrich

April 29, 1943 - February 6, 2025

James H. Goodrich, age 81 of North Prairie, WI passed away on Thursday, February 6, 2025 surrounded by his family. James was born on April 29, 1943 in Rochester, New York to John and Ruby (Foote) Goodrich.

James grew up in Nunda, NY with his parents and three siblings. He loved agriculture, drum and bugle corps, and all music. He graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, in 1965, where he studied agriculture and sang in the Cornell Men's Glee Club. He then served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966-1977 as a navigator during the Vietnam War, and reached the rank of Captain. While serving, he also was a judge for drum and bugle corps competitions as well as an instructor for the Mandarins corps out of Sacramento, CA. James married the love of his life, Marcia Lou Wright, on August 31, 1968, in Ames, Iowa. During the course of his working career, he was a vocational agriculture teacher at Kettle Moraine High School for two years before starting his own business, Goodrich Farm Care, selling herd health and nutrition products to farmers for Impro Products, until his retirement in 2016. He was a longtime member of the North Prairie United Methodist Church where he served on many committees. James was a member of the Palmyra American Legion Post 304 and Genesee Depot VFW Post 5270. He was past commander of the Waukesha County VFW, and VFW Second District Past Commander, with a passion for their Patriot's Pen and Voice of Democracy contests. He spent over 29 years helping with the music department at Kettle Moraine and was a 4-H Dairy Leader. James was also a 30+ year member of the Oconomowoc Community Choir Inc, helping to create their operating board and serving as President and Vice President/Scholarship Chair for several years. He and Marcia assisted Merle Fischer with his 13 in line horse hitch.

James is survived by his daughters, Charlene (Mac) Chopin, Beverly (John) Wiedemann, and Sabrina (Ryan) Stapleton; his grandchildren, Abigail, Arthur, Bridget, Declan; other relatives and many friends.

James is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Marcia Lou Wright; his brother, John Dale Goodrich.

Visitation for James will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2025 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Thelen Funeral Services (W309S4840 Commercial Drive, North Prairie) until the time of services at 3:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be directed to the Oconomowoc Community Choir or the UW Foundation's MIA Project (https://mia.biotech.wisc.edu/donate/).

For those unable to attend, those wishing to share a memory or those wanting to just sign the on-line guest registry, please go to: www.thelenfh.com. Thelen Funeral Services of North Prairie/Genesee is honored to be assisting the family. 262-392-4251.