James G. Coniff

A life lived with passion and purpose has moved on. Jim Coniff was reunited with his wife (Alice) and first born (Christine) on March 13, 2023. It could be said that everything he did he did with gusto. Be it, duck hunting, boating, woodworking, trapshooting, RV ‘ing or golf, he tackled it with energy and enthusiasm. In his early years this was accompanied by cheap beer and cheaper cigars.

In the late 50’s and early 60’s he would hand write a note to the local IGA store, “please sell my son or daughter some cigars” signed Jim Coniff. He would command either John or Peggy to go get them and when they returned, he would bark, “what took you so long! Joann escaped this job. With every cigar was a bottle of beer, either Oconto or Kingsbury whichever he could find cheaper.

While living in Stevens Point, he bought a boat which the family called the “Tin Can”. There were countless hours of fun fishing, learning to ski and going as fast as it could go, even as Alice was hollering at him to slow down! The boat moved along with the family to Appleton in 1964.

In Appleton is where his woodworking and trapshooting took off. He could build anything from a complete sunroom addition to fine furniture to exquisite clocks. He was always in demand to do things for people because he was so handy.

Trapshooting soon became his hobby of choice. He was not good at it. He was great at it. 100 straights and tournament victories were not only the expectation it was the standard. Some of his friends said the targets broke out of shear fear. He made the Wisconsin state team one time and the Florida state team 12 times. He shot his last 100 straight at age 87.

In the mid 1980’s he bought a travel trailer and as soon as retirement arrived, he and Alice took off for months at a time touring the entire country. Border to border and coast to coast was their mantra. After a few years of traveling, they relocated to Florida and spent nearly 30 years there. In Florida, if he wasn’t trapshooting, he was golfing. Even though he didn’t learn golf until his 60’s he got his handicap to 5…………or so he said.

Age begrudgingly caught up with them and they moved back to Wisconsin. He was now surrounded by trapshooting and family. He rekindled relationships with his 5 grandchildren and established rewarding relationships with his 6 great grandchildren. Seeing them learn how to swim or learn how to walk brought a joy and satisfaction to him beyond words.

He was a proud member of the US Marine Corps serving from 1946-1948 and again from 1950-1952. He earned “expert” status, the highest level of marksmanship. He worked for the Wisconsin Telephone Company from 1948 until his retirement in 1985.

Jim is survived by his children, John (Peggy) Coniff, Margaret “Peggy” Coniff and Joann (Jon) Denissen; grandchildren, Dana (Aaron) Breunig, Emily (Sam) Coniff, Heather (Henry) Chung, Chelsea Denissen, Calvin (Jessica) Denissen; great grandchildren, Lily and Leah Chung, Jack Breunig, Lucas Denissen, Kendric Davis, Quinn Davis; and sisters, Phyllis Landry, Jean Noel.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

The family asks that any donations in his memory or honor go to Fox Valley Trap Club in Omro. He is going to heaven with his shooting glasses and a box of shells.