James Rudy Plahuta passed away 27 June 2024 leaving his wife, Jennifer, and his four children David Plahuta, his wife Amy; Caroline Mendoza and her husband, Jon; Jeffrey Plahuta and his wife, Natalie Garfield; Jake Plahuta; and Jim's granddaughter, Natalie. He is survived by three of his siblings: Dave Plahuta , Linda Griffin, Judy Reyes and her husband, Gil. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Rudy and Mary Plahuta, and sister Diane Hausser and her husband, Don. Jim is probably known by most in Grand Marais as the gentleman walking (or being walked by) his giant black dog,Jesse, around town. Jesse was as much his child as his human children. He and Jennifer owned and ran the Outpost Motel for many years while lovingly raising Jeff and Jake in the Grand Marais community. After retirement, they moved into town to relax and enjoy retirement. Jim was very active in the rain garden restorations in town, volunteered every year to assist with taxes, took art classes with his sister,Judy, online and was becoming quite the watercolor artist. He never let a crossword best him, took great pleasure in renovating his house and building up the gardens around it, was an avid baker and never saw a sweet or baked good he could turn down. He really enjoyed construction and engineering projects and would watch every step of the highway renovation projects, the move of the yellow house, and monitored the bakery progress closely. Finally, he always made sure his children knew he was proud of them and that they felt loved, valued and respected. He was the kindest, most loving father, husband and sibling and will be greatly missed. Jim's family will have a celebration of life in Grand Marais on 12 October. For information, email Jennifer at jlplahuta@gmail.com.
