James Russell Baratta

James Russell Baratta (Jim) was born and raised in South Omaha by his Italian parents, Tony and Margaret Baratta.  He always looked up to his one sibling - his brother, Bernie.  They had a traditional Italian household, which included spaghetti and meatball dinners every Thursday and Sunday.

He went to school at St. Ann's, South High, and University of Nebraska Omaha.

Jim started dating the love of his life, Ardyth Lad, in their junior year of high school. They were king and queen of the prom together in 1958. He lettered in baseball and football for South High.

He married his high-school sweetheart in 1961.  They survived (Ardy's description) 62 years of blissful marriage .  They had 5 daughters before finally having their son (and said they would have kept trying!). He enjoyed his 14 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and is guiding another great-granddaughter on the way. He joined 2 of his daughters in heaven (Karen who passed at age 1 week in 1962 and Patty at age 22 in 1990).

Jim's strong work ethic allowed him to provide for his treasured family. With his degree in business, he worked for Physicians Mutual Insurance Company for 33 years, retiring at age 54 (a goal set at age 17) as a Senior Vice President.

One of his favorite pastimes was fishing - something that was passed on from his father. For his honeymoon, he somehow managed to get his new bride to agree to go fishing at Battle Lake, Minnesota - how romantic!  In 1977, Ardy caught a 6 1/2 pound northern on one of their annual family trips to Mill Lake in Minnesota.  He was always jealous that he was never able to catch a bigger fish than hers. But he sure tried over the years!

Jim also loved to golf with his friends and family.  He was a long-time member of his company golf league at Dodge Park and a member of Fontenelle Hills. He has the family bragging rights of making a 102 yard hole-in-one on hole 15 at Tregaron golf course in Bellevue in 1999.

He enjoyed traveling all over the world - Las Vegas, US national parks, cruises, Europe, Singapore, and Thailand. This included regular trips to be with his daughters and his grandchildren in Iowa and Minnesota. Fun fact - Jim and Ardy visited every state in the US except Alabama!

Jim "mostly" enjoyed Nebraska football (not so much in the last few years). He went to the Fiesta Bowl in 1995 (fantastic Championship win), and the Rose Bowl in 2002 (heartbreaking Championship loss).  He also rooted for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jim was a devout Catholic.  He was raised in St Ann's parish and was one of the early parishioners of St. Bernadette parish, where he brought his Italian heritage to the annual parish spaghetti dinners.  He also contributed countless hours to the parish festivals.

He had his mother's sweet tooth and enjoyed oatmeal raisin cookies, ice cream, and red velvet cake.  He also had his morning French vanilla creamer with a "hint" of coffee.

In the last few years, Jim had mobility issues, but he continued to live life to the fullest. He was a fighter and a testardo ("stubborn" in Italian) to the end.

Jim died at age 83 surrounded by his wife and children.

We are greatly appreciative of the Endless Journey Hospice Group and True North Caregivers.  Their care and compassion enabled the family to honor Jim's wish to be comfortable in his own home on his journey to heaven. We will miss him dearly and will love him always. We are comforted in knowing that his pain and suffering is no more.

James was preceded in death by his parents Anthony and Margaret Baratta;  daughters Patricia Baratta Spooner and Karen Baratta.

He is survived by his loving wife Ardyth Baratta; children Marie (Randy) Ciochon, Theresa (Tom) Zawada, Paula (Tom) Huettner and Mike (Shelly) Baratta.