Sun Prairie
James (Jim) R. Leu, age 50, passed away on December 27th, 2023 at Agrace Hospice in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. He was born in Clearwater, FL on December 26th,1973 to Richard and Nancy (Barbian) Leu who both survive him.

Jim and his family moved to Little Chute when he was three before making Stevens Point their home base in 1986. There, Jim flourished, meeting many lifelong friends and finding a passion for running while attending Pacelli High School. He loved the camaraderie that it brought and set many school records at that time. While he often received accolades for being the first runner in, he felt that the whole team should be celebrated. He lived his life with that mindset.

Jim received a running scholarship to UW-Milwaukee, where he attended college for two years before moving to UW-Stevens Point to be closer to Amy, who later became his wife. He graduated with a degree in Computer Information Systems in 1996.

While attending college, Jim and his friend, John, started a business that became Core Digital Communication Services, the first internet dial-up service in Stevens Point. He was very proud of what they accomplished at that time in their lives. There are many fun memories of Core that continue to be shared, many including late night hot wings from Joe Mama’s.

In 1998, Jim married the love of his life, Amy (Vollrath) Leu in Stevens Point. Together, they moved to Cambridge, WI, Raleigh, NC and Pittsburgh, PA before settling in Sun Prairie, WI. They shared 25 years of marriage and enjoyed many adventures, along with their children Maya and Emma. Being a father was a great joy to Jim whose final words to each of his girls at bedtime were often “Dream Big”.

Jim worked as a network and systems engineer in various locations, most recently at the University of Wisconsin Department of Information Technology. He loved solving problems and with his patience and generosity was a valued mentor to many. He hated Windows and was a passionate contributor to the Linux open source community.

Jim is further survived by his siblings, Mary Leu (Don Glodowski) and JoAnn Leu, both of Green Bay, Joseph Leu (Diana Borders) of Quincy, Il and Tom Leu (Traci Elliott) of Wauwatosa; many beloved nieces and nephews, a great nephew and many friends such as the “The Dangermen” (Thad, John, Brian, Ryan/Stooch, Jeremy, and Tim). He felt blessed beyond measure by his friendships.

In 2013, Jim was diagnosed with oligodendroglioma, a brain cancer that would change the trajectory of his life. He remained positive throughout his treatments and endured several surgeries, multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and focal and full-brain radiation. He fought hard and did all he could for as long as he could. Unfortunately, in the last years of his life he had to give up many things that brought him joy, like running and driving his beloved go-kart. His goal in his last year was to make others’ lives better in any way he could. Even on his hardest days, he would ask what he could do to make his caretakers’ lives easier while they cared for him. He truly had a heart of gold and a loving spirit that will remain with us long beyond his time here on earth.

The list of people to thank is extremely long. Our family has been immeasurably blessed with loving support from friends, family, neighbors and the Sacred Hearts School community. We also thank the doctors at UW Hospital/Carbone Cancer Center including Drs. Ian Robins, Patrick Grogan and Dr. George Leydon (GHC), and the staff at Oak Park Place and Agrace Hospice for their care through these past months.

For those wishing to express their sympathies, the family kindly suggests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made in Jim’s memory to either the Carbone Cancer Center or Agrace Hospice.

Friends and family are invited to gather and share memories from 4-7 pm on Friday, January 5th at Tuschen-Newcomer Funeral Home, 302 Columbus St, and again on Saturday, January 6th from 10 – 11 am. A prayer and memorial service will follow at the funeral home. A lunch reception will be held at The Knights of Columbus Round Table 1611 N. Bristol St. Sun Prairie.