James Kostelac , January 31, 1934 — January 09, 2019

James M. Kostelac gently slipped away to his heavenly home on January 8, 2019 at the age of 84. He was born on January 31, 1934 in Ironwood, Michigan, the son of the late Joseph F. Kostelac and Victoria (Wick) Kostelac. After graduating from Antigo High School in 1952, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and completed four years of active duty; afterwards, he continued his studies in San Diego for two years.

He then enrolled at University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-M) where he excelled in Science, Math, and Electrical Engineering. It was at UW-M where he met his future wife, Linda Wittwer Lang (Kostelac), a fellow student studying to teach English as a Second Language to Spanish-speaking students. James and Linda were married in 1965.

The next year, they welcomed a son, Joseph C. Kostelac on May 25, 1966 while James was working as an Electrical Engineer at Sun Electric in Virginia. In his work capacity as an engineer, he traveled around the world to Europe, Asia, and North & South America. James retired as a Defense Contractor from Northrop-Grumman in the mid-1990’s.

His interests included art and painting, reading, history, cooking, gardening, and sports. James is survived by his son, Joseph; half-siblings Tommy Walter Kostelac, Mary Jo Kostelac, and Patricia Kostelac. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Linda Kostelac; his parents & grandparents; brother, William Gene Kostelac.

A celebration of Jim’s life will be held at the Schneider, Leucht, Merwin Cooney Funeral Home, 1211 N. Seminary Ave. , Woodstock, IL, on January 12, 2019 beginning with a visitation at 10:00 a.m., followed by a Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m. Interment with military honors will take place at Oakland Cemetery in Woodstock. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Our House Senior Living, 2876 Village Road, Portage, WI 53901.

On behalf of Jim, we wish to extend our deepest gratitude for the loving, caring, and compassionate staff of Our House as well as Agrace Hospice. Pops, we love you.

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