James F. Douglas

James F. Douglas, age 79, of Pharr, TX, and Faribault, MN, passed away September 27, 2025, at the Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN.

James Francis, the son of Leland and Margaret (Finn) Douglas, was born on June 8, 1946 in St. Paul, MN. He attended Archbishop Murray High School and graduated with the class of 1964. Following high school Jim attended Hamline University and received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. In 1967 he was united in marriage to Peggy Coenen. Peggy preceded him in death on May 8, 2017. On April 27, 2019 Jim married Juanita Gustavson. Jim taught for over 50 years with most of those years of service being with Faribault Public Schools. Jim also taught for a few years as a Professor with the Student Teaching Program at Minnesota State University Mankato. Jim loved to learn and then loved to pass that knowledge on to others. Jim was a gentle fun-loving spirit who had a great sense of humor. He didn’t let life happen to him, he embraced life and did many things to help others. He loved volunteering and helped with many organizations over the years including, Pro Life Ministries, Pro Life Across America, the Franciscan Brothers of Peace, Driscoll Children’s Hospital and especially enjoyed his work with Habitat for Humanity. Jim was also an active volunteer at Divine Mercy Catholic Church. Family was also very important to Jim and he never missed an opportunity to support his grandchildren at their activities. One way he did this was by being a Boy Scout volunteer with his grandson’s troop and helped him earn the rank of Eagle Scout. He also had a huge impact on his granddaughter and inspired her to become a teacher and follow in his footsteps. This could be said of some of the students that he taught as well as many have told him that he inspired them to pursue education as a career. Jim enjoyed riding his motorcycle and took many trips with his wife and friends. He also enjoyed woodworking and carpentry work. He loved cutting down trees for firewood, building furniture, and crafting beautiful bowls for family and friends. He also worked with Rutz Organ, helping with pipe organ repair and restoration. For the past few years Jim and Juanita lived in Pharr, TX.

He is survived by his wife Juanita Douglas; by his daughters, Mary (Martin) Romain and Lonnie (Chris) Weyer; by five grandchildren, Cole, Josephine, Emma, Matt (Sydney) and Grace (Jack); by great granddaughter, Violet; by his brother, Bob Douglas and other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Peggy, his parents, Leland and Margaret Douglas, father and mother-in-law, Frank and Leona Coenen, brother-in-law, Bill Coenen and niece, Brooke Douglas.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, October 3, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at the Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Faribault with Fr. Alex Marquette officiating. Interment will be held at St. John’s Church Cemetery in Little Canada, MN.

Memorial visitation will be held at the Parker Kohl Funeral Home & Crematory of Faribault on Thursday, October 2, 2025 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and at the church on Friday morning for one hour prior to services.

In lieu of flowers the family prefers that memorials be directed to Pro Life Ministries, Franciscan Brothers of Peace, Pro Life Across American, Divine Mercy Catholic Church and Pregnancy Options of Faribault in memory of Jim.