James Genett

James Genett 

March 11, 1938 - February 26, 2026

A legend was lost — James Genett, father of five children — James Jay (Lisa), Jeremiah, Jessica Genett (Trevor Dolyniuk), Jason (Tanya jo), and Johannah Genett (Karl Fernstrom); grandfather of six — Tyler James (Devin Swan), Tanner (Heidi), Mercedes Genett (Brandon Karlen), Gavin James, Gage, and Kira; and great-grandfather of seven — Camden James, Dax, Poppy, Reese, Everett James, Lakyn, and Hank — passed away on February 26, 2026, at the age of *38.

(*James was a storyteller whose life blurred the line between truth and fiction.)

He had a crackly voice. When he was a kid, others called him "Froggy." He said his voice was that way because one of his siblings pushed him into a pickle vat when he was about two.

He had the paper route for the entire town of Marshfield and got more subscriptions by giving people rides home. He once rode his Harley motorcycle through the halls of Marshfield Senior High School (now the middle school).

At 16, he ran away to join a traveling circus: he was the bodiless man — they buried him to his neck in dirt — and he said he walked up a ladder made of knives.

At 17, he joined the Marines, where he earned his high school degree. Lucky for him, it was between the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was stationed in Hawaii before it was a state. He said he was stabbed once in the belly by a sailor. "Don’t trust sailors," he always warned his kids.

He came from a big family — 11 kids. They lived in Marshfield, WI, sometimes in the city, sometimes out in the country. His mom, Emily (Kissinger), was a cook at the old Casa Loma on McMillan. Dad told us that on winter mornings, the boys (who all shared one bed) would wake up with snow covering their blankets. In one house they rented, plumbing was added, but the toilet was placed right in the middle of his mom's bedroom!

He married Janice Schooley, and they moved to Florida, where he gave away samples of Tide detergent, and they had their first child, Jim. They moved back to Wisconsin to launch a Trailer Park Empire in Spencer. Jim and Jeremiah ran the town exploring, and soon their sister Jessica arrived. After Jason was born, they decided six was too many for a trailer, so they moved to their home on South Maple in Marshfield, WI, and had their final child, Johannah, who was in charge of holding his gold teeth anytime he would pull them out of his mouth. In Marshfield, James worked at the Weyerhaeuser Door factory for decades. He suffered a work injury in 1985 that resulted in him walking with a cane — he had a lot of fun scaring kids and dogs with that cane.

James was world-renowned for his lack of patience,  not holding back his opinion, and his knack for telling it like it is. It was the school of hard knocks, and yes, we were told many times how he had to walk for miles in a blizzard uphill to get to school, so "suck it up" or "I’ll give you something to cry about." He could be short-tempered, but he was also very funny and silly. Every time he passed the cemetery, he would tell the same old joke: "People just die to get in there."

James passed away in his sleep, probably after hearing the price of hospice care. He loved his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, giving all he could to make their lives easier. His family knows he did his best, and they hope he is surrounded by family, playing cards, laughing, and telling more stories.

There will be a Celebration of Life and interment on June 20; details are to be determined.

Instead of flowers, please feel free to donate to the Hannah Center in Marshfield, WI: https://hannahcenterinc.org/

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of James Genett, please visit our floral store.