James Plowman

James "Jim" Wellington Plowman passed away at his home on November 26 at the age of 81.

Jim was born on November 6, 1942, in Los Angeles to Stephen and Florence Plowman. Due to his father's military career, his early years were marked by frequent relocation. At just 6 months old, he moved to Germany where he learned German as his first language. Later they moved to Spain. At the age of 7, his family moved to the Washington, DC area. He then attended junior high school in Bangor, Maine, and completed one year of high school in Paris before ultimately graduating in Bangor.

Following one semester of college, Jim served in the US Army for four years, where he achieved the rank of sergeant. He often credited his military service for instilling in him a sense of discipline. After completing his military duty, he pursued higher education at Virginia Tech, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.

Jim's professional journey led him to Minneapolis, where he embarked on his first engineering job. There he met Ruby Weber, and they married on April 4th, 1970, in Elmwood, Wisconsin. Together, they relocated to California, where Jim worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During this time, they welcomed their two sons, Stephen Plowman III and Jason Plowman, into the world and shared their lives with their beloved dog, Fella.

In 1980, the Plowman family and dog made their way to Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Jim found employment with Cray Research (later bought by SGI), a pioneering supercomputer company in the Chippewa Valley, where he enjoyed a prosperous career spanning over 20 years as a reliability and quality assurance supercomputer engineer.

After a divorce from Ruby in 1990, Jim purchased a home in Hallie, not far from Eau Claire, and adopted a dog named Pook. It was in Hallie that he spent the remainder of his years.

He was known for his passion for playing tabletop games, especially poker and other card games, with his friends and family. He was a dedicated member of a card club for over 30 years that focused on a game called five hundred. He was also an avid, loyal fan of the Green Bay Packers for over 30 years in good times and bad. When having Packers gameday get-togethers with friends, he specialized in preparing a delicious venison chili, which everybody relished.

Ruby and Jim maintained a friendship throughout the years. Jim will be remembered fondly and missed deeply by his surviving family and friends.

Jim is survived by his sons Stephen (Katrina) Plowman and Jason (Crishele) Plowman; his three grandsons Jacob Plowman, Isaac Plowman, and Nicholas Plowman; sister Mary Thomas; nephew Tom Thomas; and brother Johnny McGee.

Out of respect for Jim's wishes, there will be no funeral service.