Locations
StaffLife Story Funeral Director
jimbauschke@lifestorynet.com
Jim has loved music since the moment he could hear it. By the third grade, he was taking piano lessons from his dad, and by the fourth grade, he had started playing the cello. The cello remained his passion through junior high and high school. One summer, he was part of the All-State program at Interlochen National Music Camp. Jim also liked to sing, and sang in the South Haven High School Choir and the State Honors Choir. In college, Jim continued to indulge his musical ability, playing in the Western Michigan University Orchestra and singing in the University Grand Chorus.
To earn money during college, Jim worked summers at the South Haven Hospital. It was here that he met a local funeral director who offered him a job at the funeral home. Almost immediately, Jim loved it. He soon graduated from WMU and enrolled at the Indiana College of Mortuary Science. After obtaining his degree, Jim served his country at the U.S. Army Mortuary at Than Son Nut Airbase, Saigon, South Vietnam.
After Vietnam Jim returned to the funeral home in South Haven for a couple years during which time he met the love of his life, the former Jane Arkins. Jim and Jane were married in South Haven and were blessed with the birth of their first son, Ryan, while they lived at the funeral home. A few months later Jim took a job with the Batesville Casket Company where he spent the next 26 years. Jim and Jane lived in Kalamazoo during this time which is where their second son, Patrick, was born. In 2001 Jim was involved in a special project-the Funeral of the Future-for Batesville. This work brought Jim closer to families again and to the important feelings they have when a loved one dies.
With this in mind Jim decided to become part of a new company called Life Story Network® and also to be a funeral director at Rupert, Durham, Marshall & Gren Funeral Home. This allowed Jim to pursue his new-found passion: changing the focus of funeral service from the death that occurred to the life that was lived. At a Life Story Funeral Home the focus is on the family, the memories of their loved one, and keeping those memories alive; Life Story Network is the company that will make all of that happen for Life Story Funeral Homes® across the country.
Life Story Network® is leading a transformation in the funeral service profession: "The Life Story process is a funeral business innovation that changes the way people remember the ones they love. Life Story Network® is not about burial, cremation, caskets, or urns. It's about the human heart." Jim is excited about the work he does because it allows him to help people in a way funeral service was never able to do before.
Jim & Jane still visit their native town of South Haven, especially during the summer months. For relaxation Jim and Jane like to walk the trails in Parkview Hills where they live, and spend time with their sons and their granddaughter, Shae. Jim continues to indulge his musical interests as well, singing in the choir at St. Augustine Cathedral and listening to classical music.
To earn money during college, Jim worked summers at the South Haven Hospital. It was here that he met a local funeral director who offered him a job at the funeral home. Almost immediately, Jim loved it. He soon graduated from WMU and enrolled at the Indiana College of Mortuary Science. After obtaining his degree, Jim served his country at the U.S. Army Mortuary at Than Son Nut Airbase, Saigon, South Vietnam.
After Vietnam Jim returned to the funeral home in South Haven for a couple years during which time he met the love of his life, the former Jane Arkins. Jim and Jane were married in South Haven and were blessed with the birth of their first son, Ryan, while they lived at the funeral home. A few months later Jim took a job with the Batesville Casket Company where he spent the next 26 years. Jim and Jane lived in Kalamazoo during this time which is where their second son, Patrick, was born. In 2001 Jim was involved in a special project-the Funeral of the Future-for Batesville. This work brought Jim closer to families again and to the important feelings they have when a loved one dies.
With this in mind Jim decided to become part of a new company called Life Story Network® and also to be a funeral director at Rupert, Durham, Marshall & Gren Funeral Home. This allowed Jim to pursue his new-found passion: changing the focus of funeral service from the death that occurred to the life that was lived. At a Life Story Funeral Home the focus is on the family, the memories of their loved one, and keeping those memories alive; Life Story Network is the company that will make all of that happen for Life Story Funeral Homes® across the country.
Life Story Network® is leading a transformation in the funeral service profession: "The Life Story process is a funeral business innovation that changes the way people remember the ones they love. Life Story Network® is not about burial, cremation, caskets, or urns. It's about the human heart." Jim is excited about the work he does because it allows him to help people in a way funeral service was never able to do before.
Jim & Jane still visit their native town of South Haven, especially during the summer months. For relaxation Jim and Jane like to walk the trails in Parkview Hills where they live, and spend time with their sons and their granddaughter, Shae. Jim continues to indulge his musical interests as well, singing in the choir at St. Augustine Cathedral and listening to classical music.
