James “Jim” Michael Brayer, co-founder of the Agri-View agricultural newspaper, was born June 17, 1945, in Milwaukee, and grew up in Marshfield. He earned his journalism degree from UW-Madison in 1967 and married his wife, Cathy Weichelt, on Aug. 24, 1968.
Jim proudly served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. After stints at Montgomery Ward and the Marshfield News-Herald, Jim launched Agri-View, a statewide agricultural newspaper, along with three business partners.
Jim continued to put his entrepreneurial skills to use throughout his life, later starting a telecommunications business called Dialtone 2000 and, along with his son, a tiling company called Lincoln James Tiling. Together, Jim and Cathy had two children and six grandchildren.
James died Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in Green Valley, Ariz. He was 72.
