James Edward DEACON

DEACON, LICHLITER, FORD, DEACON-JONES, JONES, WEBER, BEGLEY

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 5/4/2014 at 11:58:00

December 28, 1946 --- April 29, 2014
Resided in Cannon Falls, MN

James Edward Deacon, age 67, of Cannon Falls died unexpectedly April 29, 2014, at Saint Mary's Hospital in Rochester, MN, surrounded by his family. A Celebration Of Jim's Life will be 11:00 am Saturday, May 3, 2014 at St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church, 7459 Hwy 19 Blvd, Cannon Falls with visitation from 9:00 am until the time of service. Interment will be in the Cannon Falls Cemetery following the service.

Jim was born December 28, 1946, in Storm Lake, Iowa. He was the oldest child of Edward and Mary (Ford) Deacon and was raised on a dairy farm. Jim attended school in Varina and Fonda, Iowa, and graduated from Laurens, Iowa, in 1965. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls in 1969. He married Barbara Lichliter on August 17, 1968, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Eagle Grove, Iowa. They were married for over 45 years.

Jim taught history and coached football, girls' basketball, and girls' track in Irwin, Iowa. He returned to UNI and earned his Master's Degree in 1973. Jim and Barbara moved to Cannon Falls in 1973. He was the computer and media specialist for the school district for 25 years. Later he was employed by Rochester Community College and Inver Hills Community College also as a computer and media specialist. He retired in 2012. For 20 years Jim and Barbara published CMC (Computers and the Media Center) News. It was the first publication geared to school media specialists across the United States and Canada.

Jim was a member of St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church. He served in the Iowa National Guard and the Minnesota Army Reserves and was a member of the Cannon Falls Honor Guard. He was a lifetime member of the NEA. Jim was a person who always saw the glass as being half full rather than half empty. The best times were those spent with his family and three granddogs. He was especially looking forward to the birth of his first grandchild in July.

Jim and Barbara traveled extensively to all 50 states and to numerous foreign countries. Family traditions included vacations, long weekends spent at a cabin, trips to the State Fair, walks along Summit Avenue in St. Paul, 4th of July get-togethers, and New Years spent with the Deacon clan in Omaha. He enjoyed watching all kinds of sports, reading, feeding wild birds, and had recently taken up wood carving.

Jim is survived by his wife Barbara; his daughter Andrea Deacon-Jones (Mitch) of Hudson, WI; his son Ryan (Brooke) of St. Paul; his sisters Kathy Deacon Weber (Mike) of Shoreview; Mary Jo Begley of Omaha, NE; his brothers Tom (Candy) of Omaha, NE; Bob (Dee Dee) of Kismet, KS; and ten nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, James and Irene Lichliter.

Lundberg Funeral Home - Cannon Falls, Minnesota
http://www.lundbergfuneral.com/obituary/James-Jim-Edward-Deacon/Cannon-Falls-MN/1378196