James L. DeZurik, 83, Sartell

November 16, 1942 - May 9, 2026

A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 AM, Thursday, May 14, 2026 at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic church in Sartell for James DeZurik, 83, who passed away at his home in Sartell on May 9th. Fr. Ron Weyrens will officiate. A visitation will be from 9-10:30 AM at the church. A private burial will take place at a later date at the parish cemetery. Arrangements have been entrusted to Williams Dingmann Funeral Home in St. Cloud.

James “Jim”, the son of Laurence and Redelle (Brinkman) DeZurik was born on November 16, 1942 in St. Cloud. Following High School he attended the Brainerd Community College where he met the love of his life. He married Patsy “Patt” LaVoie on July 6, 1963 at the St. Francis Church in Brainerd. Jim also served time in the National Guard, though he did not feel worthy of military honors as he was not “called for duty”. The couple joyfully raised a family of 5 children while Jim worked Manufacturing as a Foremen for Frigidaire in Saint Cloud. He retired after 25 years with the company.

Jim’s Christian faith was apparent in the way he lived his life. In his youth he enjoyed Christian camps and the love for the outdoors which later carried into his children’s lives. He loved and supported his family by modeling strong life long values. He enjoyed hockey, as did his kids. To provide the opportunity for them, he flooded his front yard to create a rink from which a team was born with his own children along with some neighborhood kids. Jim organized scrimmages with other teams, so the boys could compete and play the game they loved. Jim had a strong love for hunting as well. He had strong beliefs in responsible gun ownership and taught Fire Arm Safety Courses. In retirement, he turned a life-long hobby of making fishing lures into a second career. He founded “Jimmy D’s River Bugs” and created a presence with phone and internet sales. His story and his lures gained national notoriety with an article written in “In Fisherman” as well several other publications. He still found time to volunteer for the Mended Hearts Program at the St. Cloud Hospital, providing comfort to patients and families along their journeys. Jim loved meeting new people, his compassion and comforting presence put others at ease.

Jim will be sorely missed by his wife Patt; his sons Todd (Sherrie) of Holdingford, Tony (Amy) of Elk River, Scott (Lisa) of Avon and Steve (Fran) of Champlin and daughter Tricia (Jon) Lohr of Brandon, SD; his sisters, Dianne (Ed) Dirkswager of Roseville, Judy (Marty) Igo of Boise, ID and brothers, Dan (Linda) DeZurik of Sartell and Chuck (Janet) DeZurik of Richmond; 9 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Cathy DeZurik and Doreen Roos; brother Dick DeZurik and grandson, Ryan DeZurik.

The Service will be live streamed at http://stfrancissartell.org/