Described as a quiet, behind the scenes guy who was always kept busy helping others, Jim Kress is leaving a legacy in Cedar County and the Wilton area with major donations toward the preservation of history in the area.
James Roy Henry Kress died unexpectedly Dec. 22, 2023, at the age of 54. He is leaving $475,000 to the Cedar County Historical Society and another $100,000 to the Wilton Historical Society Depot Museum as part of his estate wishes, along with other smaller local donations.
Not a guy to take the limelight, Kress was a history buff who collected countless artifacts from throughout the area, including a lot of treasured memorabilia from Wilton, Durant and Cedar County.
A Wilton High School graduate in 1988 and self-made man who was raised the youngest son of Jacque (Kaufmann) and late step-father Bert Schweitzer, he became interested in preserving history and nature even before he was a teenager, according to Jeff Kaufmann of rural Wilton, who said Jim was like a “little brother through all these years.”
His mother, Jacque, described Jim as ornery and ambitious as a youngster, calling him a “go getter” who wasn’t interested in anything except the 40-acre Kaufmann family farm, which he eventually bought and grew to 145 acres, lining Sugar Creek.
“He had a great work ethic that didn’t stop,” said Schweitzer. “He worked and worked to get that farm paid off.”
She said Kress wanted to keep that farm in the Kaufmann family. “It needed to stay in the family,” Schweizer said, noting he would work 24/7 on the farm. “He wasn’t one to sit and watch TV. Really, he didn’t even like to sit. There was always something to do.”
Kaufmann says the 150-year-old farm, which Kress “worked for every acre,” has applied for Heritage Farm status in the state. It is the home of one of the oldest barns in rural Iowa history, built in 1859 and one of the stops on the annual Iowa Barn Foundation Tour in late June.
Schweitzer said her son’s idol and best friend was his great uncle Togo “Jim” Kaufmann. Her son was always in Togo’s shadow doing projects on the farm.
She said his stepfather, Burt Schweizer, who adopted both Jim and his brother Jeff, also had a great influence on Kress, teaching him to repair and create things and giving valuable lessons on life.
Kress also worked in production for Hon/All Steel in Muscatine for 33 years before retiring in January 2023.
A pet lover, NRA member and deer hunter, Kress had a love for rescue dogs who were loyal companions everywhere he went on the farm and on errands. Kaufmann said he treated his dogs like family. “If he stopped at McDonalds to get a hamburger, the dog got one too,” he said.
He showed his love for animals on the farm as well, raising chickens, sheep and cattle in his pastureland, with the tillable farmland rented out to neighbor Tim McQuill.
Kress was said to spend hours on his farm taking in nature along Sugar and Otter Creeks, which ran through the property, preserving nature where he could. “He would farm around trees rather than cut them down,” Kaufmann said.
Even though he had “significant others,” Kress never married. “He was married to his community,” said Kaufmann, saying Kress’ farm was the love of his life.
Kress was always “community minded,” according to Kaufmann. Kress helped out shut-ins or neighbors when they couldn’t finish their farming due to illness. He volunteered at Cedar County’s historic Prairie Village near Tipton, and worked countless hours cleaning up local cemeteries – in particular the Kaufmann family cemetery in Moscow. That’s where his ashes were buried, along with some on his farm under a special oak tree.
“Anytime someone needed help, he was there,” said Kaufmann, calling Kress the “quintessential volunteer” who didn’t like being the center of attention. “He would not approve of doing a story like this about him.”
Kaufmann called Kress a “quiet guy who simply served by his actions.” He had more friends than he knew,
Jacque Schweitzer says her son was, “determined and never gave me any problems at all,” as a young man or even later in life.
She called him an avid lifetime collector who found old baseball and football cards, farm equipment and other toys, all to be eventually placed in the museum. He was also a scrapper, tearing down old cars and farm machinery to be sold as scrap metal.
She said the farmhouse is being remodeled on the Kaufmann farm and Schweitzer plans to move from Wilton to keep the farm in the family name.
She said it’s been an honor to fulfill her son’s wishes in providing bequests to area museums. “I’m proud to be his mother,” she finalized. “I was fortunate to be his mother – his life ended way too soon.