James Ruelle, 83, Minot, died early Sunday, January 8, 2012 at home in the comfort and care of his family. Though his lungs gave out, his good humor lasted to the end.

Jim was born in Bottineau in 1928 and his mother died shortly after his birth. Thanks to the care of his father, older brothers and the loving townswomen of Westhope he survived an adventurous childhood. He attended school in Westhope and later attended and graduated from high school at Assumption Abbey. Jim briefly attended barber school, claiming to have dropped out after performing just half a shave on a hobo volunteer, leaving the man, according to Jim, "still in the chair awaiting my return to do the other side."

A veteran, Jim served as an ambulance driver in the U.S. Army medics during the Korean conflict where he was stationed at the guarded seaport of Trieste, Italy. He spoke fondly of his service, and made it sound like an all-expense paid European tour driving "the brass" around reconstructionist Europe: "see Rome, Athens, Paris with a cruise down the Danube through Bavaria." After his honorable discharge he briefly worked as a hardware man, but later chose a career in plumbing. He was working for Cook's plumbing in Minot when he met Mary Holbach, the niece of his eldest brother's wife. They were married in 1955. Jim later worked for Hap's Plumbing in Minot and then finished his career as a pipefitter helping construct various North Dakota power plants, retiring in 1987. He was a member of the plumber and pipefitters Local 300 for more than 50 years.

Jim never took an extended vacation, but for years summer weekends involved his family taking him camping at various lakes, eventually upgrading to a cabin on Strawberry Lake. In his later years, he and Mary traveled around the country visiting their beloved children and grandchildren, looking up old friends and making new ones.

As much as Jim loved to putter around their little farmstead southeast of Minot, a couple of years ago he and Mary simplified things by moving into town. There Jim, always a lover of trains, would patiently count and identify the trains moving through Minot from the vantage point of his living room overlook on south hill.

James is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Mary (Holbach), their six children and their spouses: Linda & Keven Hayhurst, Grafton, WI, Patrick and Kimberly (Breding)Ruelle, Overland Park, KS, Carole and Rick Sanders, New Hope, MN, Mark and Sandy (Moore) Ruelle, Tecumseh, KS, Jim and Sonya (Andersen) Ruelle, South Jordan, UT, & Joan and Todd Ristau, Roanoke, VA; 13 grandchildren; one great grandson. He is also survived by his older brother, Fr. "Jerry" Ruelle, Assumption Abbey, Richardton, ND; sisters- and brothers-in-law: Esther Ruelle, Patricia (Donald) Hill, Laverne O'Neill, Karen (James) Steffen, Diane (Roy) Hyslop; numerous nieces and nephews.

His eldest brother, William C. ("Bill") predeceased him.

Mass of Christian Burial : Saturday, January 14, at 12:30 p.m. in Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Minot.
Vigil Prayer Service: Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Visitation : Friday from 1:00 -4:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot and from 5:00 -7:00 at the Church prior to the prayer service.
Family prefers memorials to the Catholic Indian Mission (PO Box 639, Fort Yates, ND 58538) or the Frank and Ruth Holbach Scholarship Fund in care of Minot Catholic Schools (316 11th Ave. NW, Minot, ND 58703).