James Axt

James Robert Axt, age 64, died Monday, October 17, 2016, at his home in Cassville. He was born on April 14, 1952, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Robert George Axt and Lola Mary Bour Axt. He was raised in Shorewood, Wisconsin with his older brother Geoffrey, his younger brother William (Bill) and his sisters Suzanne (Suzy) and Cathy Sue. He graduated from Shorewood High School in 1970 and from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota in 1974 with a degree in history and a teaching certificate. While at St. Olaf he met and married Joy Lynette Parker on December 23, 1972, at Hopkins United Methodist Church in Hopkins, Minnesota. Four children were born to them: Katherine Miriam, Gillian Marie, Andrew James and Hannah Joy, all of whom survive him.

Immediately upon leaving St. Olaf he and Joy spent two years teaching school in Western Australia, first in the capital city of Western Australia, Perth, and then 300 miles up the coast in Geraldton, W.A. James taught at City Beach High School in Perth and then at a brand new junior high school in Geraldton. After returning from Australia, he entered Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he earned a Master of Public Administration degree and a Doctor of Juris Prudence degree in 1979. For a year he worked in Clear Lake, Iowa, as an attorney and then opened his own private practice in Rockwell, Iowa, while also serving as judicial magistrate for Cerro Gordo county.

Eventually he made his way to Newton, Iowa where he worked briefly for Farm Credit Services before spending the largest part of his law career with the State of Iowa in the Department of Inspections and Appeals as an administrative law judge. His final legal job was in private practice in southern Iowa. James enjoyed photography and his cabin in northern Wisconsin.

In addition to his survivors, he is predeceased by his paternal grandparents August and Ella Marie Donath Axt, his maternal grandparents Arthur Henry Bour and Catherine Mary Scholtes Bour, and his sister, Cathy Sue Axt. His father Robert also preceded him in death and his mother Lola passed away recently.

Memorial services will be held at a later date. Memorials are suggested to First Presbyterian Church, 1684 Iowa Street, Dubuque, IA 52001. Martin Schwartz Funeral Home & Crematory in Cassville is assisting the family.