James D. Gutzke, 76, born May 28, 1935, to Rev. Walter and Doris (Dorothy) (Ott) Gutzke, died peacefully on Saturday, December 31, 2011. 

He was a graduate of Logan High School and the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, and he served honorably in the U. S. Army. Jim was a capable and creative builder and remodeler, traits inherited from his paternal grandfather. His lifelong curiosity was passed on from his maternal grandfather. He was an actor and a technician with La Crosse Community Theatre from its inception, as well as being active in other theater groups, and was a mainstay of La Crosse Jazz Fest since it began. Jim sang with Choral Union and its predecessors in La Crosse, and with choruses in Madison, Arkansas, Albuquerque, and Denver, for many years. 
 
James is survived by his sister Rachel Gundersen and her husband Cameron; his longtime companion, Mary Baumann; his nephews Eric Wollan, Cameron, Jr., Gregg, Adolf, Roald, and Joshua Gundersen, Hans and Kort Gatterdam, and his nieces Christine (Wollan) Boleen and Lisa Wollan, and Greta 
(Gatterdam) Henry, and their spouses and children; his brother-in-law, Paul Gatterdam and his brother-out-law, Jerry Wollan; his former wives and companions, Colleen Kavanaugh, Roxana Morgan, Louisa Stevenson Barda, and Anne Drecktrah; and countless friends.