James “Jim” Donald Markwardt, 71, St. Cloud

June 8, 1950 - June 9, 2021

A time of sharing will be at 1 PM on Friday, June 18, 2021 at the Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in St. Cloud for James “Jim” D. Markwardt, 71, who passed away on June 9, 2021 at his home. Visitation will be from 10 AM to 2 PM at the funeral home. Burial will be at Leiding Cemetery in Orr, Minnesota at a later date.

Jim was born on June 9, 1950 to Albert and Hazel (Regevig) Markwardt in Detroit Lakes, MN. He married Sharon Hoppenjan on July 17, 1976. Jim worked many jobs within the optical industry as well as owning many businesses. He owned and operated Northern Lites Optical in St. Cloud from 1988 to 2000. He deeply loved being within nature and doing different outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, archery, and boating. Jim enjoyed many hobbies such as woodworking, sharing stories, and making people laugh. He was an awesome husband, dad, and grandfather. Jim was a man of great principle who took joy in the little things in life. He was a loving, jolly man with a good heart and will be deeply missed by all.

Survivors include his wife, Sharon of St. Cloud; his children, Eric of Farmington, Kim of St. Cloud, Julie (Judd Worley) of Brooklyn Center, Jordan of Bloomington; grandchildren, Eric, Lexi and Raylan; siblings, Judy (Tom) Long of Cusson, Jack (Patti) of Tucson, AZ, Linda (Mike) Vidmar of Britt, Bruce of Orr, Paul (Heather) of Orr, Danny (Carol) of Bloomington, Dean of Libby, MT; many extended family members; and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents and brother, David.