JAMES STROTHMANN

1949 - 2020

James Curtis Strothmann Of The Villages, Florida, died May 3, 2020, from metastatic kidney cancer. He got his diagnosis in late February. He was 70. He died peacefully at home with family at his side. He and his wife Valerie Wilk moved to Florida in July 2016 after living in Falls Church, VA, for 26 years, to be close to family. Jim was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on September 13, 1949, to proud first-time parents Gwendolyn and Curtis Strothmann. He was precocious. He was standing at four months and running at ten. He was extremely smart and a voracious reader, especially of history. At 8, he was reading The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire under the covers by flashlight when it was supposed to be lights out. Jim received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Illinois. After his first year of law school, he was drafted and did two years of conscientious objective service, from 1971-73, with Atlanta Legal Aid. At the time, he was married to his first wife, Nancy Cole. Their marriage ended in divorce after ten years. He spent most of his career as a legal aid attorney, defending migrant farmworkers. He practiced in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Washington, DC, including with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, headquartered in St. Paul, and the Migrant Legal Action Program in Washington, DC. Jim was passionate about making sure that working people were not cheated out of their wages or otherwise taken advantage of. He despised liars, grifters, and cheats. His first case out of law school was a federal class action food stamp lawsuit on behalf of migrant farmworkers in the Red River Valley in northern Minnesota, which was settled successfully after three months. Jim also worked in the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, during the Carter administration, and for Bread for the World. Jim assisted with a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990, Adams Fruit Co. v. Barrett. Professor Laurence Tribe argued on behalf of the farmworker respondents, and Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the unanimous 9-0 opinion in favor of the farmworkers. That case was Justice Marshall's last on the bench. He met his wife Valerie in Washington, DC, in July, 1981, when they both worked for the National Association of Farmworker Organizations. They were married in Chevy Chase, MD, on September 24, 1983. Jim was an accomplished tennis player, and organized the schedules and subs for his early bird partners at the Arlington Y. Breakfast at the nearby Silver Diner afterward was a tradition. His partners were an interesting cross-section of Washington life: employed and retired players from Congress, law, international health, the federal government, the military, business, and journalism. Jim was resilient. On his 40th birthday he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The illness destroyed his photographic memory, and his short term memory and ability to concentrate suffered. Yet over the next 26 years he kept playing tennis, moving from playing singles to doubles and adjusting his game to accommodate stamina and balance issues. He had a wicked serve and ground strokes, and was known to occasionally surprise unsuspecting opponents with his underhand serve. He became the family genealogist before records were widely available online. He researched Civil War veterans' records at the National Archives. He and Valerie took car trips to locate family history documents in county courthouses and public libraries in Ohio, Wisconsin, and New England. He was able to trace his mother's ancestors back to the 1640s in New Hampshire, and located Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veteran ancestors in records and at gravesites. One of his most gratifying finds in veterans' records at the National Archives was a detailed colored pencil drawing of the Battle of Antietam by one of the Steeds who had fought there in the 36th Ohio Infantry. The National Park Service ranger with whom Jim shared his find was fascinated by it. Jim shared his genealogy findings at family reunions at his parents' house in Rockford, Illinois, affectionately dubbed "Club Med Midwest." Jim was preceded in death by his mother. He is survived by his wife, Valerie Wilk, his father Curtis D. Strothmann, sisters Patricia (Edward) Crylen and Nancy (Robert) Reafler, and brother David (Kathy) Strothmann, as well as loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and nieces and nephews and their children around the U.S. and in France. A Celebration of Life will be held in the Midwest at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Farmworker Justice in memory of Jim are much appreciated: http://www.farmworkerjustice.org. Jim was preceded in death by his mother. He is survived by his wife, Valerie Wilk, his father Curtis D. Strothmann, sisters Patricia (Edward) Crylen and Nancy (Robert) Reafler, and brother David (Kathy) Strothmann, as well as loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and nieces and nephews and their children around the U.S. and in France. A Celebration of Life will be held in the Midwest at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Farmworker Justice in memory of Jim are much appreciated: http://www.farmworkerjustice.org.