Obituary of James Thomas Cloute

James (Jim) Thomas Cloute passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord on Sunday, March 31, 2019 at the age of 68.  He was born in Watertown, WI on May 12, 1950, the son of James and Mary Ann (Schuenke) Cloute.  The Holy Spirit worked the wonder of new life when Jim was baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Johnson Creek, WI on July 13, 1950.

Jim grew in Jesus by confessing his faith at his Confirmation on March 22, 1964 at Bethany Ev. Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson, WI.  He continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, graduating from Northwestern Preparatory School in Watertown, WI (1968), Northwestern College in Watertown, WI (1972), and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, WI (1976). 

The Holy Spirit called him into the pastoral ministry and he served in St. James, MN, Pierre, SD, Marshall, MN, and Appleton, WI.  God blessed Jim with a passion for enriching people’s lives with the Gospel outside of the pastoral ministry by serving his congregation at Bethany Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson, WI for 31 years. He also served as a chairman of the Worship Committee for many years. 

Jim married the “Love of His Life” Jacquelyn (Jackie) Anne Knoll on August 10, 1974 at St. Paul’s Lutheran in Fort Atkinson, WI.  They were blessed with two children, Philip James Cloute and Jennifer Anne Cloute.

In his life, he worked 27 years as Sales/Estimator at WD Hoard & Sons in the print division. His passion was serving his Lord, being an avid Badger and Packer fan and what he loved best was spending time with his family.

He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Mary Ann (Schuenke) Cloute and his father and mother-in-law, Thomas and Janet (Kutz) Knoll.

Jim is survived by his wife Jacquelyn (Knoll) Cloute, children-Philip J. Cloute  of Fort Atkinson, Jennifer A. Cloute of Milwaukee, WI, Sister-Pam (Ron) Kutz, Brother-Bob (Betty) Cloute, Brother-in-law-Kurt Knoll, nephews, great nieces and nephews and many other relatives and friends.

Visitation and Funeral will be at Bethany Ev. Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson, WI.  Visitation will be held on Friday, April 5, 2019 from 5-7pm.  Funeral will be on Saturday, April 6, 2019 with visitation at 9:30 am until the Funeral Service at 11am.  Lunch will follow the service in the fellowship hall at church. Burial will be held immediately following lunch at Cold Spring Cemetery in Cold Spring, WI.

Those wishing to express their sympathy may wish to consider memorials to Crown of Life Christian Academy or Bethany Lutheran Church.

The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude for the loving care provided by Fort Atkinson ER, St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI and LifeCare Hospital in Pewaukee, WI.  Loving care was shown to Jim by many these past several months.

Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family.