James Edward Steffenhagen, age 63, of Hudson, died on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. James was born on April 25, 1948 in Hot Springs, South Dakota.  With his father being a pastor, James and his family lived in many different places in the Midwest, including South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.  It was while living in Abrams, Wisconsin that James met Wendy Hellmann, a member of his father’s congregation.  The two were joined in marriage at Calvary Lutheran Church in Abrams, Wisconsin on May 23, 1970.  This marriage would be blessed with three daughters; Lisa, Becky, and Amy.  With James working for North Central Airlines (eventually becoming Northwest Airlines) in customer service, the Steffenhagen family first lived in Richfield, Minnesota.  The company would eventually move the family to Traverse City, Michigan and then Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Finally in 1985, James’ work sent him back to the Twin Cities and the family settled in Hudson, Wisconsin.  James retired from the airlines in 2009 after 42 years of dedicated service and focused on spending his time with his family.

James loved the outdoors and enjoyed working on his yard and in his garden.  He also maintained many feeders and baths for the birds that would frequent his backyard.  When he was indoors, James enjoyed watching sports, particularly the Green Bay Packers.  Over the years, James enjoyed traveling all across the US with his family.  No matter what he was doing, or where he was, James’ favorite times were any that involved his wife, children and grandchildren.

James is survived by his; wife, Wendy of Hudson, daughters, Lisa (David) Joyce of Bloomington, MN, Becky (Joel) Aldinger of Milwaukee, WI, and Amy (Joshua) Ohotto of Albertville, MN, grandkids, Colin, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, Noah, Jonah & a soon-to-come granddaughter.  He is further survived by 2 sisters and a brother as well as other relatives and many dear friends.

James is preceded in death by his parents, Pastor Robert and Loretta (Kreinbring) Steffenhagen.

A funeral service for James will be held on Friday, June 17, at 6 o’clock pm at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, 545 Apollo Rd, River Falls, Wisconsin.  Visitation will be held from 3-6 pm on Friday also at the church.  Burial with Military Honors will take place at Fort Snelling National Cemetery at 1:45pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2011.  Services are in the care of the O’Connell Family Funeral Home – Hudson Chapel.