James Casper

James Clifford Casper, Jim, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 29, 1929. After a long and courageous battle with leukemia, Jim died peacefully on January 9, 2010 surrounded by family and loved ones. Soon after graduating from high school, Jim joined the Air Force and served in Korea through 1950. After completing his military obligation, he graduated from UCLA with a degree in Geography. He was first married to Shirley Bell and together they had three children: Stephen, Karen and Tim. Jim?s career began in Southern California where he was Zoning Administrator for the city of Compton, eventually progressing to Assistant Planning Director for the County of Sonoma, Santa Rosa, California. Jim?s second marriage was to Cecelia (Sees) Herndon in 1971. They each continued their education, completing Master?s Degrees, and employment in the San Francisco Bay Area where Jim worked for private development firms. Jim retired in 1993 and together he and Sees moved to Alexandria, Minnesota, fulfilling a dream of retirement on a lake. Jim was an avid hiker, climbed in the Sierra?s and West Coast mountains, culminating in a 123 mile trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp in Nepal in 1990. He traveled throughout Asia, Russia, Europe, Eastern Europe, North and Central America and Mexico. He was an accomplished nature photographer, winning numerous awards and prizes. Jim had a passion for golf, playing many of the celebrated California courses including Pebble Beach and Spy Glass. He continued playing golf up to several months before his death. Jim was committed to ?giving back? to his adopted community his wealth of knowledge and experience in land use planning. He served as an elected Alexandria Township Supervisor, member of the Planning Commission, Economic Development Council, the Echo Press Editorial Board and the Lake Association. Jim is survived by his wife Cecelia (Sees), son Steve (Nancy), daughter Karen (Randy) McDaniel, son Tim (Kim), stepsons Stephen and Robert Herndon, stepdaughter Gayle Brooks, 6 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren; sister Phyllis (Al) Butzen, brother David (Phyllis) and sister-in-law Mary Lou. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Frances Hicks and brother Dale. Jim?s life will be celebrated Sunday, January 17, 2010, 2:00 PM at St. Mary?s Church in Alexandria. Military honors will be by American Legion Post #87 and VFW Post #936.