James 'Jim' Vandeputte Obituary On May 17, 2024, James J. Vandeputte, 86, was finally able to rest his weary head and be reunited with his recently departed wife of 64 years, Barbara, and his dearly missed son, Steve. It was from simple beginnings in Marshall, Minnesota, that Jim came into this world on February 17, 1938, to parents, Joseph, and Leona. He was raised to live off the land, cherish family, and God, and work hard, values he adhered to throughout his life. After attending Catholic school, Jim became a member of the ROTC and attended St. Thomas College, where he played football. It was at that point he first laid eyes on Barbara Jean Strowbridge and promised a friend he would someday marry that girl. Never one to lie, Jim made a life with Barbara in Brainerd. There, they raised three children and established their home on Gilbert Lake. For years, he shared a love of golfing and bowling with a broad network of friends; his other passions were fishing and hunting, the MN Twins and Vikings, antique guns, & John Deere tractors. One of his favorite traditions almost every Sunday for the past 20 years was taking a drive to the family land on Little Big Sky Ranch, just for a glance at a place he honored with pride. It is through the 65 years of service and dedication to his Auto Import Volkswagen dealership that Jim has come to be honored as a local icon. His motto in life was to make someones day better than it had been before they came to see you; this compassion for people bled into his business practices. Jim would not only give you the shirt off his back; he would give you the car off the lot, for as long as you wanted to try it out. He always lived a modest life in order to generously provide for the people around him. Jim was preceded in death by his parents Leona and Joseph, his wife Barbara, his son Steve (Wendy & Kathy), and his siblings Lester (Marian), Robert (Joanne), Don (Mary), and Helen Vandendrissche (Leon). He is survived and dearly missed by his children Chis Vandeputte and Debra Vandeputte, his cherished grandchildren Colton Vandeputte, Olivia Lund, Ryan Menier, Kalina Vandeputte, and Kyler Vandeputte, and step-grandson Brandon Cizec, his daughter-in-law Wendy, his sisters Jane Wegman (Tom), Joan Rickman (William), and Donna Brewers (Vernon), and a long list of friends, family members, and VW employees. Jim will be laid to rest at a private family burial at Evergreen Cemetery. A celebration of life will be held at Auto Import on June 1 from noon to 3 pm. If you had the pleasure of knowing "Jimmy," please stop by to share a memory and pay tribute to a life lived well.