James “Jim” Robert Oliver, age 84 of Eau Claire, Wisconsin died on Saturday October 8, 2022 at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire.

James Robert Oliver

Jim was born August 30, 1938, on a farm in Princeton Township near Long Siding, Mille Lacs County, MN. He was the son of Robert and Alvina (Forster) Oliver. He lived on a farm in Greenbush Township, Mille Lacs County, MN, for most of his formative years.

He graduated the 8th grade from District 5, Mille Lacs County in 1952 and from Princeton High School in 1956. He served in the U.S. Army from 1957 – 1960. He was a graduate of the U.S. Army Information School in Fort Slocum, NY, and also served at Fort Carson, CO; U.S. Army Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany; and Fort Jackson, SC. He attended the University of Minnesota and Indiana University Northwest. He was a graduate of the Minnesota School of Business. He began his newspaper career as a reporter with the Albert Lea (MN) Tribune in 1966. He was named city editor in 1969 and editor in 1970, a post he held until 1985. He joined the Times of Northwest Indiana in Hammond, IN, in 1985 as a copy editor and named news editor in 1988. Later that year, he accepted a position as editor of the Daily American of Somerset, PA.

He was a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors Association and received a first-place award for editorial writing from the Pennsylvania Associated Press. He retired from the Daily American in 2003.

He was a member of Lake Street United Methodist Church in Eau Claire and a certified lay speaker in both the Western Pennsylvania and Wisconsin Conferences of the United Methodist Church. In Pennsylvania, he was also a member of the United Methodist Church’s Connellsville District Board on Ordained Ministry. He led worship services for several years at Heritage Assisted Living in Eau Claire and at Good Shepherd Senior Apartments. He was most recently a member of the Plymouth Congregational Church.

He was active in the Albert Lea Community Theater and in the Chippewa Valley Theater Guild. He was a tutor for Literacy Volunteers Chippewa Valley for 10 years and a volunteer shuttle driver for Hope Gospel Mission from 2004 until 2013. Beginning in 2004, he volunteered at Wisconsin Public Radio where he assisted the hosts in producing the arts and entertainment program Spectrum West.

He married Linda Newhouse Oliver on June 5, 1981, in Rochester, MN. She survives as do two sons, Matthew (Melinda) Oliver and Patrick (Melissa) Oliver; 5 grandchildren and 4 step-grandchildren; nieces, cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Plymouth United Church of Christ or a charity of the giver’s choice. If flowers are ordered please avoid lilies.

Memorial service will take place at 11 am on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at Plymouth United Methodist Church, 2010 W. Moholt Drive, Eau Claire, WI 54703 with Pastor David Huber officiating. Memorial visitation will take place at the church on Tuesday morning from 10 am until the time of service. Inurnment will take place at a later date in the Pine Island Cemetery in Pine Island, Minnesota.

Friends and family may offer condolences online at www.hulkefamilyfh.com.

Hulke Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 3209 Rudolph Road, Eau Claire, WI 54701 is assisting the family with the arrangements.