James Ozzello died on Wednesday, May 23rd, at his home in Racine, WI, after an incredibly rich and varied life. Retired from the U S Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer, Jim moved to Racine in 1992 to enjoy the arts and concert music of the Milwaukee/Chicago area, as well as to renew old Bay View school friendships and family ties. He was born in Milwaukee on January 28, 1930, to Dominic Ozzello and Gertrude Packer Ozzello. After graduating Bay View High School he became a streetcar student at Marquette University, from which he received a BA in history and a MS in Physics. To put himself through college he was primarily a garbage collector, but also a self-taught land surveyor, a welder, a Schlitz beer bottle stacker and, for one long day, a tannery worker. After graduation he entered the first of a number of longer careers. He worked as a physicist in transistor development for Globe Union where the leader of his workgroup was Jack S. Kilby. Jim left to pursue a PhD at the University of Washington and Kilby left to join Texas Instruments where he soon wrote the patent for the silicon chip, much based on what their group had done at Globe Union. Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. At the University of Washington Jim was introduced to his next career: after hearing a lecture by a U S Department of State representative Jim decided to leave physics and to see the world. Jim's Foreign Service class was the one of the first in a State Department program to bring new backgrounds to the department. No longer mainly Ivy League and Protestant, their group came from differing backgrounds and religions. They bonded exceptionally well and continued to communicate throughout their lives. Jim first moved to Washington, DC. After a crash course in French, he took his first airplane flight to his first assignment in Paris, which in the late 50's was both beautiful and uncrowded. His Beetle took him throughout the French countryside on weekends. In 1962 he married Yvonne Rochette. They lived in Washington, when Jim became the Aide to the Assistant Secretary for Europe. His next assignment was four years as Consul in Dusseldorf, Germany, a stunning European city. In Dusseldorf, Jim began his interest in fruit growing. After returning to DC Jim served on the European desk and then moved on to study economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as a Fulbright Fellow. Afterwards, a new Department of State assignment took him to Mexico City. He was there for over four years during which the former governor of Wisconsin, Patrick Lucey, was Ambassador. After returning to work in Washington, Jim finally retired from the State Department to teach economics and statistics. He first taught at Beloit College in Wisconsin, then at Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania. But Europe was his love and when he received an offer to teach at St. Louis University in Madrid, Spain, he was happy to live there for several years. After retiring from teaching Jim came back to the Milwaukee area where he met and married Dorothy Bosley in 1994. Since then he spent his time as a backyard orchardist, and a local lecturer on the topic of Just War. Their home is cordoned with many pear trees. He was respected regionally for his expertise in the growing of pear and quince and, for a number of years, he provided quince to enthusiastic Milwaukee chefs. His other garden fruits included cherries, pawpaws, apricots, peaches, plums and berries of many varieties. His grandchildren's favorite was the blueberries and the local deer's favorite was grapes. Throughout the years the fruits have provided friends and family with many jars of jam. His backyard is his legacy. Jim is known also for his expansive library and his impressive collection of classical CD's. Music and books have been a vital theme in his daily life, although deep down he always considered himself a scientist. He loved the physics and mechanics of the bicycle and regularly stopped to check out bikes throughout his travels. He rode extensively and built bikes and many bicycle parts. He recently shipped the yellow recumbent he built to his son in California. As a young man he loved tennis, but a bad rotator cuff turned him into a sailor, a canoeist (while others fished), a skier, and a runner. Since his teens he was a great chess enthusiast, clipping the moves from his cherished New York Times. Dorothy and Jim were inveterate travelers throughout their marriage. Traveling on their own, they spent time in European capitals and countrysides, Latin and South America, Canada and visiting their children from coast to coast. A memorable trip was a biking/walking trip across the Pilgrimage path to the Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Jim's multi-language ability always came in handy.Jim's proud and loving family members are his wife Dorothy, his son Paul (Claudine) of Berkeley, CA, and his daughter Brigitte (Tom Sterner) of Chicago. He is survived by his sisters, Kathleen Spindler of Franklin, WI, and Dolores Trocino (Ralph) of Long Beach, CA. He is also survived by his stepsons, Jim Bosley (Deborah), Kennett Square, PA; Mark Bosley (Brenda), Anthem, AZ; and Doug Bosley (Laura) of Boston, MA. His grandchildren are Cla and Justin Sterner, Avril and Victor Ozzello, James R. Bosley III, Bennett and Stephen Bosley, as well as two nephews and five nieces. Jim served as the national secretary for Fruit Explorers of America, and was active in the Chicago-area MidFex (Midwest Fruit Explorers). He also served on the board of Early Music Now, Milwaukee.Jim was a man of deep faith, and a devoted Catholic. In the words of the Bard:Now cracks a noble heart. Good Night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Wm. Shakespeare, MacBeth********Memorial services will be held at Saint Rita's Catholic Church, 4339 Douglas Ave Racine, WI, on Saturday June 2, 2018 at 12pm. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in his name to Catholic Relief Services at www.CRS.org. Dorothy, Jim's children and Dorothy's children wish to thank Teresa Hansen for her devotion these past months; Dr. James Tierney and Karen Murillo of the Heart Failure Clinic at Wheaton Franciscan; as well as all the nurses and staff of Compassionate Care Hospice of Brookfield, WI.