Amy, and Henry and Kathy, my deepest sympathies on the loss of Jim. May your memories of many family times help you through this difficult time. God Bless
December 28, 1970 – March 17, 2025
James (Jim) Henry Grothaus, aged 54, of Hudson, WI
Jim was born in St. Paul and grew up in Afton, Minnesota. He graduated from Stillwater High School in 1989. After high school, he attended the University of Minnesota, where he took his time—seven years, to be exact—to earn his civil engineering degree. During his time at the U, Jim met the love of his life, Amy (Saffel). After carpooling to the U, they began dating and were married in August of 2000. Initially living in Woodbury together, they moved to Hudson in 2002 and fell in love with the Hudson community.
Following graduation, as a registered Professional Engineer in Minnesota, Jim built a career in the engineering field working at SEH, the University of Minnesota CTS, Hancock Concrete and most recently Cemstone. He left his mark on the transportation industry and loved connecting with people in his field. His co-workers, colleagues and customers became true friends.
Jim enjoyed sports of all kinds, cheering on the Stillwater Ponies, Minnesota Gophers, Vikings, and Gustavus Gusties. None of those, however, exceeded his love and passion for the Hudson Raiders. Jim spent years coaching his children, Olivia and Oscar, and many Hudson kids in soccer, football, softball, baseball and basketball. One of his greatest joys was supporting kids in whatever they were doing. If he wasn’t watching his own kids compete, he could be found watching other people’s kids, always leaving them with supportive words of encouragement. Jim also loved to provide encouragement to refs with his favorite “not your best call, ref!” advice.
Jim’s personality filled a room, and every day was an opportunity for him to show people he loved and appreciated them. Never hesitating to show that love, his hugs were big and long and tight. He wasn’t afraid to kiss your head, nudge you inappropriately or shoot you a text with a quick, to-the-point message of how he loved you and was grateful for you. He loved to share bible verses with others and pictures of beautiful sunrises or sunsets. He loved a good cozy scarf, a round of golf with his kids or buddies, cooking for anyone he could, making others laugh with his daily dad jokes and chatting with neighbors.
Above all, Jim’s greatest loves were his family and his black labs. He was thoughtful, romantic, and an exceptional gift-giver. Using his servant’s heart, he did everything he could for them. With their many successes in school and sports, his children filled him to the brim with pride. Beyond their successes, however, were the people they were becoming. He and Amy often talked about how amazed they were by them – kind, respectful, hard-working, funny, humble and loving. Jim’s legacy and values will live on in them, guiding and protecting them always.
He will be greatly missed by his wife of nearly 25 years, Amy, his two children, Olivia and Oscar, parents, Henry and Kathy, brother Pat and his fiancée Jane, father-in-law Bruce and girlfriend Linda, sister- and brother-in-law Matt and Alissa O’Hara, nephews and nieces Jacob, Emma, Josh (Karissa), Alex, Lauren and Ruby, his black labs, Riggins and Gus, who were his faithful companions, a host of loving aunts, uncles and cousins, and his many circles of friends. Greeting him in heaven are his mother-in-law, Susan, sister-in-law, Erica, infant twin brothers and his black lab, Axel.
Visitation will take place from 4-7 PM on Thursday, April 10, at O’Connell Funeral Home, 520 S. 11th Street Hudson. Funeral services will be at 11 AM on Friday, April 11 at Bethel Lutheran Church, 504 Frontage Road with visitation one hour prior. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to support Olivia and Oscar’s college education. Thank you to everyone who has reached out after Jim’s sudden passing on March 17. The family deeply appreciates the outpouring of love and support during this difficult time. Many of you have kindly asked how you can help. As you may know, Liv is wrapping up her freshman year at Gustavus, and Oscar will be attending UW-Madison in the fall. As you can imagine, the costs of their higher education are significant. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to support the family may consider a contribution toward Liv and Oscar’s education. All contributions will go directly into their 529 college funds.
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Amy, and Henry and Kathy, my deepest sympathies on the loss of Jim. May your memories of many family times help you through this difficult time. God Bless
I am so sorry Amy and family. Jim was a great friend and a very special person. He was a very caring selfless person and I will miss him a great deal.
As an 8th grade coach he always went the extra mile to help all the players to make sure no one was left out.
In support of golf even after Olivia graduated and left the girls team he cared enough to track the results and text me and congratulate Hailey when she played well but even more importantly he told me to tell her to keep her chin up when she didn’t play so well.
He showed up early on a Saturday morning to see the girls off even though he didn’t have a daughter on the team.
No matter what he was doing, he would always make time to stop and talk. I will miss him coming out to basketball games I referred and non stop heckle me, he always made me laugh.
I sure will miss Jim, he was a great person and pray for your family during these very hard times.
Amy, condolences to you and your family. Thinking of you and wishing you strength and comfort.
Very sorry Amy, Liv and Oscar. Your dad was an amazing person. He stopped by regularly to see how we were doing. Shared a old school song like Jodeci. Chatting about basketball about Liv and Oscar. Or hey, I’ll come rebound during a workout with Liv I’m going to miss him. I pray that God heals and mends your hearts like only HE can. All the love to you all!
James Grouthaus. One of the best. Proud Father. Devoted Husband. Supporter of all things Hudson WI. Dedicated fan of HHS Raider Sports. Genuine, Gentle, Entertaining, Boisterous, Loyal, Appreciative, Generous.
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Thank you for the Old Styles after the game. Thank you for your words of gratitude. Thank you for the candy bars. Thank you for the memories. Until we meet again….
I knew Jim in the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) world and his obituary captures him well. For us in the LTAP world, Jim was a delight to be around, he was a great technical asset, and he was a leader. He was one of the good ones. We’ve missed him since he left our LTAP world, and I am saddened to hear the loss of such a fine man. Far, far too soon. I know that many, many in the LTAP community will also be saddened and join me in condolences for Amy, the kids, and the rest of Jim’s extended, loving family. God bless him and keep him.
My deepest sympathies to Jim’s family. I was very saddened to hear the news of Jim’s passing but grateful I was able to know Jim as a coworker at Cemstone.
Jim’s passion for the industry was always evident and his upbeat positive attitude could be a breath of fresh air. Praying God grants you the strength to get through these difficult times.
My condolences to Amy and her family. I got to know Jim during my time on the Research Implementation Committee, when he was working for LTAP. He was a joy to work with and he loved talking about his kids.
To a friend since high school, we will miss you, Jim. We will not forget you and the great memories that we have had on the golf course, on the Turkey Bowl football field the day after Thanksgiving every year, or just spending time together at an establishment in downtown Stillwater. You were always generous to all of those around you, and you made us laugh and smile. You were also a great role model for Olivia and Oscar, and they were fortunate to have a dad who was so proud of their accomplishments. To Amy, we pray for you and your entire family that you may find peace during this very difficult time in your life. Grateful to have your friendship, Jim!