- Date Of Birth: August 26, 1939
- Date Of Death: April 27, 2015
- State: Michigan
THEISEN, Mr. James W. Plainwell, MI James Willard Theisen passed away peacefully on Monday, April 27th at Life Care Center of Plainwell. He was born on August 26, 1939 in Chicago, IL, the only child of Joseph and Eleanore Theisen. The family moved to Paw Paw, MI when he was 5 years old, and he graduated from Paw Paw High School in 1957. After earning his BA from Western Michigan University and his Masters Degree from the University of Michigan, he started teaching high school in Albion, MI. A summer in Europe in 1964 resulted in twelve years of teaching with the military overseas high schools, one year in the Azores and eleven in Wiesbaden, Germany.
His teaching career focused on English and History, and he was so admired by his students that it became common for them to seek him out years later. He was a beautiful writer and an accomplished photographer, and in 1977 wrote “The Horizon is Farther from the Hilltop”, which is a much loved collection of his impressions and photographs. He moved to Washington D.C. in 1978 to work at a publishing company and later as a writer/editor with the U.S. Veterans Administration and several defense contractors. He was also self-employed with a photography business. He returned to teaching in the late 1990’s, and retired as an online professor for Strayer University.
He moved back to Michigan in 2004 when his first grandson was born. Jim was a very tall man at 6’6″, but he liked to joke that he was 4’30”. His loves and interests covered a wide range of areas, including classical music, antique cars, Santa Claus, the Titanic disaster, the lost city of Atlantis, thunderstorms, and paranormal and unexplained phenomena. He also enjoyed serving on the Board of The International Fortean Organization, and as Editor-in-Chief of their quarterly publication, “The INFO Journal”. Jim was preceded in death by his father in 1977, and his mother in 2009.
He is survived by his doting daughter, Lisa “Kidlet” Otto Gustafson of Kalamazoo, and his grandsons Otto “Joey” and Anders “Andy”. He also leaves behind a large, loving family of friends in the Washington D.C. area, including dear friend Mark Cobb. Per Jim’s wishes, his body has been donated to the University of Michigan Medical School.
