James A. “Jim” Forcier, 84, of Cherokee, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, September 28th, 2024, in Ankeny, Iowa. Jim was surrounded by an abundance of love and family during his final days.
Visitation with the family present will be held Saturday, October 5, 2024 from 11am-12pm at Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, IA. A burial service will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cherokee, IA.
Jim was born on April 30th, 1940, to Ervin and Signe (Louhela) Forcier in Cloquet, Minnesota and was the youngest of six siblings. Jim graduated from Little Falls High School and went on to become a dedicated truck driver for Schuster Company in Le Mars, Iowa. In March of 1960, Jim married the love of his life, Joan (Russell) Forcier. They spent the next 63 years together and had four beautiful children: Jeff, Michael, Scott, and Brian. Jim remained devoted to his wife until the very end. He continued expressing his love and providing encouragement for her to get better in the days leading up to Joan’s passing on October 2nd, 2023.
Jim had a lifelong passion for cars and enjoyed buying, selling, and fixing them up. He took great pride in this and would often listen to the ‘Swap Shop’ radio channel in Cherokee, IA. This is a hobby that he shared with his best friend, Randy Cox for many years. Randy was an extremely loyal friend and a major part of his life.
Jim was family-oriented and spent a lot of his time with the ones he loved. He was especially close to his brother-in-law, Johnny Russell, until his passing on January 6th, 2022. Jim also appreciated the simple things in life, including his daily cups of black coffee. He didn’t need very much to be content, and no matter what hardships he faced, he always had the resiliency to continue moving forward. We are deeply saddened by the loss of Jim and will miss him greatly. We find comfort in knowing that he is reunited with his wife, Joan.
He is survived by sons, Jeff Forcier (Staci Patterson) of Urbandale, Iowa, Scott Forcier of Le Mars, Iowa, and Michael Forcier of Cherokee, Iowa; Granddaughters, Darian and Brenna Forcier of West Des Moines, Iowa; Great Granddaughter, Harper Baumann of West Des Moines, Iowa; Nieces, Holly Peters (Chris Peters) of Gore, Oklahoma, Kim Russell (John Zuspann) and their children Jacob and Lucas; Nephew, Brandon Russell and his child Gracie of Blue Springs, Missouri.
Jim is preceded in death by his spouse, Joan Forcier; son, Brian Forcier; parents, Ervin and Signe Forcier; brothers, John “Jack” Walter, Thomas Forcier; sisters, Joyce (Forcier) Hanson, Grace (Forcier) Nelson, and Carol (Forcier) Hahn.
