James Blasko

Blasko, James Andrew
Age 67, of Lake Elmo
Jim passed away Friday, October 16th, 2015 with his loving family at his side after living life to the fullest for the past 12 years, with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Jim was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin, to Andrew and Joyce (Weinzirl) Blasko who preceded him in death. His family moved to Winona when he was seven and Jim graduated from Winona High School. The Winona Daily Newspaper and the Winona YMCA were two of his first employers. He attended Gustavus Adolphus College and graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics and Business Administration. A forty-year career with 3M led him to assignments in Knoxville, Iowa and New Ulm, MN, returning in 1990 to 3M headquarters in St. Paul. He has been called the "guru" of Excel spreadsheets by many co-workers and friends, of which many have benefited from his knowledge. His mind visualized and organized data and numbers without effort. He loved to log every bike ride mileage, route and who was along for the ride. Jim was always interested in sports and the statistical information of those activities. A very social and friendly man, he would obtain information from others and always try to link it to someone they would both know and undoubtedly he succeeded. Jim taught us to be genuinely interested in others and keep the connections with friends going. He will be deeply missed by his many friends and family. Jim was the beloved husband of Eileen for 42 years, the proud and supportive father of Andrea Frey and her husband, Adam; son, Gregory and his girlfriend, Whitney Windmiller; the loving, fun, best Lego building partner and Papa of Aiden, Amelia and Annabel Frey, brother to Marcia (David) Reinert, Philip (Robyn) Blasko, ReVae (Donn) Seitz, Daniel (Kathy) Blasko, and Tom Blasko. The family wishes to thank the staff of the Cancer Care Center and Oncology 6th floor South staff of Region's Hospital, as well as Lakeview Hospice for their kind and supportive care of Jim. A celebration of Jim's life will be Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 3:00 P.M. at BRADSHAW CELEBRATION OF LIFE CENTER, 2800 Curve Crest Boulevard (NW corner of Hwy 36 and Co Rd 5), Stillwater. Visitation Friday, October 23, 2015 from 4:00-8:00 P.M. and also one hour prior to the service. Memorials may be made to Young Life of Stillwater.