His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Calvert & Froelich Memorial Home, Minonk, with the Rev. Richard Olson officiating. Burial will follow at Minonk Township Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the memorial home. Memorials may be made to the Community Cancer Center in Normal or the BroMenn Hospice in Normal.

He was born Oct. 5, 1946, in Streator, the son of Lester O. and Doraldene Tyson Putnam. He married Patricia A. Stringer on April 6, 1968, in Minonk. She survives along with one son, Gregory M. (Tami) Putnam, Pontiac; one daughter, Susan M. Putnam, Minonk; and one sister, Cindy (Duane) Rients, Pontiac. He has six grandchildren, Ethan, Owen and Aaron Putnam; Collin and Alex Sunkel; and Hannah Heidenreich.

Jim was a member of the First Baptist Church, Minonk. He worked as an associate at Wal-Mart in Pontiac for 17 years.