James L. “Jim” Roseliep

James Louis Roseliep was born on May 28, 1949, to Cathryn (Heim) and Louis Roseliep. He was the second of three children, including his older brother, Tom, and younger brother, Dan. He grew up in the North End on Central Avenue, attending school at Holy Ghost and Wahlert High School.

Jim was a product of the post-war baby boom, and his tastes ran to the era’s typical obsessions: rock ‘n’ roll, the Yankees, The Three Stooges – and above all else, cars. Jim’s love for muscle cars was completely unbounded, although he swore allegiance to Chevy over Ford, and more specifically, to Corvettes over all other cars. Jim wasn’t bookish by conventional standards, but give him a model year of a Corvette or Camaro and he was ready with the specs. As a teenager he and his friends burned around Dubuque in their parents’ cars, and when those weren’t fast enough, they bought their own to speed through deserted county roads. On Fridays in the warmer months Jim’s crew would head to Cordova, Illinois, where they raced modded muscle cars on the quarter-mile track. Sometimes they won, too.

Jim’s dad, Louis, founded Office Furniture Warehouse, and from a young age Louie’s sons learned firsthand what it took to run a business. When Louie started tinkering with home security systems, Jim took it on as his personal challenge. Eventually Jim left his two jobs at Beecher’s and the Pack to found his own company, Security Products of Dubuque.

By the mid-1970s business at Security Products was thriving, and so was his personal life: Jim married fellow Dubuquer Jacquelyn Zwack. In 1981 their first child, Will, was born. Three years later a girl named Justine came along, prompting a move from their house on West 17th Street to Fairway Drive, where they’d stay for over twenty years. Their third and youngest child, Andy, arrived in 1986.

Jim worked long hours, even starting a second business – Classic Motors of Dubuque – as a way to buy, sell, and talk cars. But first and foremost Jim was a family man. Always one for parties and impromptu celebrations, he and Jacquie decked their house for every holiday, and every gathering, large or small. They hauled the kids all over town for sports practices and music lessons. And the family were regulars at Sunday Mass, first at Nativity, then St. Anthony’s, and finally St. Raphael’s.

The life of a business owner is never uncomplicated, starting with the daily running of a team of workers, and extending out to all aspects of a business, including sales, service, and reams of paperwork. Jim greeted everything with a smile and characteristic resolve. By quitting time he’d be back home cooking meat on the grill, cigar in hand, with kids and dogs running around the backyard.

In the mid-2000s Jim’s fortunes changed. He suffered a series of mysterious medical incidents that had doctors baffled. Ever one with the soft touch – Jim was a kid at heart who loved practical jokes, working on model trains, or racing slot cars with the kids – he was now sometimes closed off and impatient. It took years for him to receive the diagnosis that explained the changes his family noticed.

After selling Security Products, Jim stayed busy consulting and working out car deals. But his greatest success during this period was becoming a grandpa four times over. Jim was overjoyed that his family now included Axel, Effi, Viggo, and Georgie.

Jim Roseliep passed away on January 3, 2025. He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Cathryn, and his brother, Tom. Jim will be remembered for his generosity, his love of family, and his inexhaustible supply of stories about fast cars and bygone days.

Online condolences for Jim’s family may be left at www.tristatecremationcenter.com