James J. “Wojo” Wojciechowski, 73, of Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin and The Villages, Florida passed away on Tuesday September 7, 2021 of Covid- 19 at Swedish First Hill Hospital in Seattle, Washington.
Jim was born on April 24, 1948 in La Salle, Illinois. He went to high school at St. Bede Academy in La Salle. He graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign and received his MBA from DePaul University in Chicago.
Jim owned and operated a company in Chicago which designed and manufactured sound control devices for large industrial plants. He sold his company when he was 54 and retired to The Villages, Florida.
Jim served in The Illinois National Guard for 29 years. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and served in Desert Storm in 1991.
Jim was married to Annie Hale until her death in 2009. In 2012 he married Jane Mastrangelo who survives him.
Jim and Jane divided their time between homes in The Villages and Kangaroo Lake in Baileys Harbor. Jim was very active in both communities. He was a member of both Catholic Parishes, YMCA, Tierra del Sol Social Club, Amigos Service Club and many sports clubs. Jim loved pickleball, water volleyball, Tai Chi, golf, boating and his newest hobby-gardening. He planted beautiful flower gardens on their property on Kangaroo Lake. Jim loved to travel. He and Jane traveled all over the world during the last 11 years. In 2018 they went on a three-month World Cruise. Jim was a fearless adventurer! As a young man, he built a glider by himself and actually flew in it! He was a certified scuba diver and did a recent dive at age 73! He did the bridge climb in Sydney, Australia, swam with sharks, drove race cars on speedways and a lot of skydiving. His most recent skydive was 3 years ago. One month ago while in Alaska with Jane, he went whitewater rafting down the Yukon River.
Besides his wife, Jane, Jim is survived by his brother, Tom (Lori) Wojciechowski of Utica, Illinois; his sister, Rita (Keith) Gehm of Oglesby, Illinois; stepdaughters, Christine (Dave) Hass of Jasper, GA; Courtney Copenhagen of New York, NY; Estelle (Rafael) Gonzalez of Chicago, IL; Michelle (Steve) Calzaretta of Arlington Hts., IL; stepson, Kevin Copenhagen of Kingwood, TX; step-grandchildren, Tyler and Timmy Hass, Ashlee and Lilliana Gonzalez and John and Bobby Calzaretta; niece Lauren (Joey) Mioni; nephews, Shane (Kayla) Swords, Luke Swords and Jacob Wojciechowski; and great- nephews, Bruno and Joey Mioni and Finn Swords.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Regina (Rydz) Wojciechowski and wife, Annie Hale Wojciechowski.
A Celebration of Life will take place in October.
