James L. "Jim" Reis

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 1:00 PM on Monday, September 29 at St. Columbkille Catholic Church in St. Wendel for James L. Reis, 77, of Avon, who died September 24, 2014, at Good Shepherd Community. Burial with Military Honors will be at 3:00 PM in the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Little Falls.
Visitation will be from 4:00-7:00 PM on Sunday and from 11:30AM -12:30 PM on Monday, both at the Daniel Funeral Home in St. Joseph. Prayers will be at 6:30 PM on Sunday at the Funeral Home in St. Joseph.
Jim was born on January 3, 1937 in Brainerd to Joseph and Lucy (Weymann) Reis. He grew up in Camp Ripley and graduated from Pillager High School. Jim served in the Air Force from 1955-1959. He met Sylvia Dukowitz while working at IDS in Minneapolis and they were later married on July 3, 1961, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Staples. Jim and Sylvia moved to the farm in St. Wendel in 1968. He worked for Fingerhut as a computer programmer from 1966 to 1995.
He loved spending time with family and friends. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, watching wildlife, and sports, especially managing baseball and softball teams.
Jim is survived by: his wife Sylvia; children, Suze (John) Muchow of Deephaven, Brian (Jenny) of Chanhassen, Allan (Sally) of Eagan, Loran (Karen) of Ham Lake, Sheila (Mike) Johnson of St. Wendel; 13 grandchildren; sister Anita Tiemens of Virginia, brothers Louis of Motley and Daniel of Carlos.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Roman, Donald, Melvin, Joseph, sisters Rosemary Rennie and Geraldine Mosier.
Special thanks to Good Shepherd Lutheran Home and the Mayo Clinic.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be forwarded to Mayo Clinic for use in neurologic research: Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905.
“Jim (Dad), we will miss your kind heart and gentle hands. You will be missed. We love you”