James Colwell

James “Jim” Colwell, 77 of Wisconsin, formerly of Naperville, Illinois, passed away on October 26, 2017 of acute myeloid leukemia.

Jim was born April 10, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. He is survived by his only child, Danica Hubbard, and his two grandchildren, Morgan and Madison. He was preceded in death by his father, Allen Douglas Colwell, his mother, Delphine (Paczesny) Colwell, his brothers, Richard “Dick” Colwell, and Robert “Bob” Colwell, and his wife of over 25 years, Mary (Bulfin) Colwell.

As a young boy in Peoria he had the opportunity to perform on the radio singing and tap dancing to songs such as “Night Train to Memphis" and “Lulu’s Back in Town." Jim graduated from Woodruff High School in Peoria and continued his education at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana where he pursued a degree in architecture. He was a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity and met his future wife, Mary on campus during their freshman year.

Jim served in the Air National Guard as a cook. He pursued a business career that spanned decades that included a Vice President position with Fellowes Brands Manufacturing. While living in Naperville, Jim and his wife Mary enjoyed walking their dog every night along the Riverwalk brick pathway which ran along the DuPage River behind their home. He later started a successful cleaning franchise in Fontana, Wisconsin. He was an avid runner and ran several marathons. He enjoyed traveling to Germany, Taiwan and Hawaii, but one of his favorite places to be was on the boat, watching the sunset, listening to Jimmy Buffett with a cold beer.




Funeral service will be held Friday December 15, 2017 at 10:00 a.m., St Thomas The Apostle Catholic Church, 1500 Brookdale Road in Naperville, Illinois.