James (Jim) Lawrence Mader
July 9, 1950 – February 14, 2026
Edina, MN, USA
To Know Jim (a.k.a. Papa J) Was to Love Him
They say that you leave this life as you lived it, and nothing could be more true for James (Jim) Lawrence Mader who died peacefully on February 14, 2026, surrounded by his family.
Born in Carroll, Iowa, on July 9, 1950, Jim lived with his parents George and Mary Margaret Mader on a farm near Willey, Iowa. He was the first of seven children. Two years later, the family purchased a farm in St. Bonifacius, MN, which remained a family home to Jim for the rest of his life. Jim went to grade school at St. Boniface Catholic School and then attended Benilde High School, an all-boys Catholic high school in St. Louis Park. He loved math and geography, and worked hard in all of his classes, but could not achieve above a C in music (which his wife, Lynda, would later think made sense, based on his inability to clap on beat).
As the oldest, Jim invented card games (usually baseball related) for his siblings, kept statistics on cows’ performances in an imagined baseball league, and even tried his hand at entrepreneurship, purchasing various treats in bulk and selling them to his siblings at his “store” in his room. Jim helped out on the farm, milking cows, cutting hay, and driving tractor, but his parents soon realized (as, again, Lynda would later), that he lacked his father’s knack for fixing anything, so they ensured that he went to college. Among other jobs to pay for his education, Jim cold-called for ads in the student paper (which he hated) and drove forklifts for Tonka Toys’ overnight shift (which he loved). He graduated from St. Mary’s College in Winona, MN with a degree in Business Administration and then went on to the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Business, where he received his Masters in Business Administration in 1973.
After graduating, Jim’s desire to see the world outside of Minnesota led him on a road trip with his brother that ended at South Carolina State, where he’d received a position teaching accounting for the next year. He then taught at the University of Minnesota, Morris for one year and Wake Forest University in North Carolina for two years before returning to Minnesota to be close to family and teach at University of Minnesota. Jim entered the business world at Sperry UNIVAC, then began working as an accountant for Johnson Bottling in Eagan, MN. He joined a Catholic singles group and soon met the woman he always thought of as his “Pretty Woman,” Lynda Marie Galligan. They married on August 1, 1981 and lived together in a home he’d purchased in Rosemount, MN. His lime green couch was soon given away, and the “Happy New Year” thickly brushed on the living room wall was covered with a fresh coat of paint.
Lynda and Jim had their first daughter Katherine (Katie) on October 7, 1982, one year, two months and six days after they were married – which was, coincidentally, the exact same amount of time from his parents’ marriage to his birth. Katie, along with his daughters Susan (born March 16, 1984), Theresa (born June 15, 1986 – on Father’s Day), and Christine (born on October 5, 1989), starred in Jim’s hours of home videos, capturing his children at their best, worst and most mundane. When his growing family moved to a larger home in Eagan, he taught his girls to ride bikes on their long driveway, hosted work parties and family gatherings, and showered every morning in the only full bathroom they had while his girls brushed their teeth and got ready for school.
When Johnson Bottling was purchased in 1991, he was offered a job at Coca-Cola Enterprises’ headquarters and moved with his family to Atlanta, Georgia the following year. He would work for CCE for the next 15 years, loving both his job and the people with whom he worked, and never missing an opportunity to invite his girls to the office to bring these two worlds together. Jim worked long hours, but always made time for family dinners, his girls’ athletic pursuits, dates with Lynda, gatherings with friends, trips back home to see his family in Minnesota, and yard work (while he required his daughters to help spread pine straw, he would not let them mow the lawn, lest they adulterate his diagonal patterns). During their time in Georgia, Jim and Lynda became foster parents to several babies and young children, and in 1996 began fostering a baby named Jessica, who would later become their youngest daughter through adoption.
Jim retired from CCE in 2006, bringing over 27 years of employment with Coca-Cola companies to a close, and Jim and Lynda moved back to Minnesota to be near to family and long-time friends. Jim decided to end his career as he began it and worked as an adjunct instructor for the University of St. Thomas and St. Mary’s University before receiving a permanent 2/3 position at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, where he taught a total of nine years before retiring in 2017.
Jim and Lynda took full advantage of their retirement, traveling to visit their daughters and grandchildren in Virginia and Tennessee; spending time at their condo in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia; and cruising around Europe, Japan, Vietnam, South America, Australia and New Zealand - always seeking out sport arenas and waterfalls. Jim loved exploring new places and mapping out destinations, so also crisscrossed the country on road trips with his brothers and various friends to tour hockey arenas, see Olympic qualifiers, and watch college basketball games, always incorporating a stop to visit family and friends along the way.
One of Jim’s favorite places to be, though, was home: listening to rain while sitting underneath the awning on their back deck, mowing messages for family celebrations through his back lawn, gardening, making popcorn and playing cards with his grandchildren, walking 60,000+ steps on his birthdays, reading the sports section of the newspaper, and gathering with college friends, his cousins and siblings, old co-workers, and the community he joined at St. Edward’s Catholic Church.
Jim was kind and humble, generously praising others and minimizing his own contributions. He was a quiet leader in his professional life and his personal relationships, embodying the kind of integrity that showed there was an honest and kind way of doing things, and that mattered. He hugged people he’d just met and gently teased the people he loved the most. He was present for his grandchildren’s first steps and walks for the first day of school, loved going to church on Sunday mornings, continuously added people to his prayer list at night, and was happiest when listening to his daughters banter together on phone calls, right up until he drew his last breath.
His greatest pride in life was his family, to whom he was Dad and Papa J, and his only regret was that his time with us was being cut short by his cancer diagnosis. He is preceded in death by his parents George and Mary Margaret Mader, and will be deeply missed by his wife Lynda, his daughters Katie Halcrow (Casey), Susan Mader, Theresa Johnson (Brad), Christine Mader (Mike), Jessica Mader, his nine grandchildren, his siblings Mary Jo Franske (Dave), Packy Mader (Karen), Fr. Stan Mader, Greg Mader (Rose), Barbara Mader (Dan), and George Mader (Laura), and the many cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends who loved him.
memorial service
Celebration of Life
March 20, 2026
Church of St. Edward 9401 Nesbitt Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55437, USA
Visitation will be starting at 10 a.m., and the celebration of Jim's life will begin at 11 a.m. The service will be live-streamed for those who are unable to attend.
Note on Attire: Jim did not like to wear a coat and tie and hated uncomfortable shoes, so the family welcomes you to come to Jim's Celebration of life in something more comfortable/casual. His favorite color was blue, so wear blue if you can, or wear something that includes a sports logo (preferably a Minnesota team!)