James Arnold Braaksma

James “Jim” Braaksma, 91, of rural Cambria, died peacefully, surrounded by family, on January 25, 2025, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison.

 Jim was born on August 4, 1933, at home to Peter and Mary (Beyer) Braaksma. Jim was raised on his family farm with his three brothers, where he was taught a strong work ethic and the value of a dollar. Jim was eager to begin school and started attending country school at age five. Jim graduated from Cambria High School in 1950. 

 Jim was a highly skilled carpenter. He started his career as a barn builder until he was drafted into the Army to serve in Korea. Jim always said that they signed the truce, which ended the war, while he was on the boat to Korea because they heard he was coming. During his service in Korea, Jim was the company carpenter. Jim had to have custom Army boots made for his size 14AA feet. Jim was always finding a way to make a buck while he was serving, from selling lipsticks he had his mom send from back home to crafting an ice box to cool his friends’ beer rations. Jim’s entrepreneurial endeavors made him popular among the locals and his fellow servicemen. 

 When Jim came home after his service, he got a job as a carpenter, mostly building barns. He utilized his carpentry skills by building his own house in rural Cambria, which remains in the family today. Jim worked for Royal Lumber in Friesland. He later joined the carpenters’ union in 1967. He was well-known among other union carpenters by his infamous nickname, “Big Foot.” He proudly sported a custom-painted bug shield on his truck for years, which read “Big Foot” in large block letters. 

Jim spent most of his career as a carpenter for Findorff. Throughout his career, he worked on large and small projects all over south-central Wisconsin, including the power plant in Portage, the American Family Insurance National Headquarters in Sun Prairie, and the MATC campus in Madison. Jim was known for pointing out every building he worked on, built, or remodeled whenever you would ride along with him down the road. There were few places nearby where Jim hadn’t left his mark. 

 On February 16, 1968, Jim married Barbara Bradley. Jim assumed responsibility for Barb’s children, whom he raised as his own. They later had two more children, Peggy Sue and Todd Russell. Jim’s sons Raymond and George inherited his love for carpentry, following in his footsteps in their own careers. 

Jim retired from Findorff and the carpenters’ union at age 62, remaining an honorary member after over 30 years of service. Jim was a hard worker who didn’t let retirement or age slow him down. After retirement, he took pride in helping his family with their own projects, including building his daughter Peggy’s house, working with his son Raymond to build his house, and building a garage for his son Todd. 

 Jim will be remembered for his witty remarks and clever jokes. He had a lot of one-liners that will live on among his family. Jim could fix anything and was always willing to offer his skills to his family for anything they needed. When his family extended words of gratitude for his help, he would always joke, “Just wait until you get the bill!” Outside of his love for carpentry, Jim was an avid outdoorsman. He shared his love of the outdoors with his family by spending many days teaching his sons and grandsons how to hunt and fish, along with imparting all kinds of life lessons along the way. Jim spent much of his retirement years helping take care of his grandchildren, creating cherished memories. 

 Jim will be sadly missed by his wife, Barb; children, Raymond (Jean) Johnson, Peggy Agnew, and Todd (Pam) Braaksma; grandchildren, Lorelei (Javier), Chuck, Josh (Jessica), Paden, Delaney, Abe (Amber), Austin, Emma, Jason, Callie, Vaughn, Stephanie (Michael); great-grandchildren, Javier, Isabella, Corvus, Amara, Elyse, Tatum, Finley, Beatrix, Jocelyn, Grant, Elianna, David, and Charlie; and his best friend/brother, Larry Braaksma. Jim was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Duane and Gerald; two children, George and Ava; sister-in-law, Christine; and son-in-law, James “Spiro.”

 Jim’s family wishes to express their sincere appreciation for all the years of loving care provided by Jim’s granddaughter and “personal nurse,” Lorelei. Werner Harmsen is serving the family. Per Jim’s wishes, there will be no service.