James D. Pivonka, age 83 of Madison, passed away on Sunday, October 13, 2019. Born June 11, 1936 in Cleveland he was the son of James A. Pivonka and Laura (Komorowski) Pivonka. He married Catherine Ann Calvey in Garfield Heights, on September 13, 1958

An Auto Body Technician, Jim was a “jack of all trades, master of… some”. He was handy with painting and wallpapering. Jim grew fruit trees, tomatoes, pepper plants, and played the accordion. He could be found drinking a beer and talking about cars, racing and airplanes. Jim loved dogs, saying that he took better care of them than his own kids – dogs didn’t complain.

He is survived by his wife: Catherine; daughters: Deborah Pivonka-Green, Laura (John) Caswell, Cathy (David) Rowan and Sheri (Steve) Kerestman; sons: James (Jill) Pivonka, Thomas (Margaret) Pivonka, and Tim (Virginia) Pivonka; grandchildren: Tiffany, Jesse, Natalie, Jacob, April, Becky, Jennifer, Brandy, Jessica, Cassandra, James, Timothy, Rachel, Olivia, Kyle, Calvin, Riley, Jordan, Madeline and Mackenzie; 9 great-grandchildren; sister: Joan (Tom) Oden. He is preceded in death by his parents, and son-in-law, Marty Green.

Family and friends will be received from 4-8:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, 2019 at the Behm Family Funeral Homes, 26 River Street in Madison. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 18, 2019 at Immaculate Conception Church, 2846 Hubbard Road in Madison. Monsignor Richard Antall from Holy Name Church in Cleveland will officiate the service. Burial will take place at North Madison Cemetery in Madison.