James Bauknecht

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both…” Mr. Bauknecht was my World Literature teacher at Madison Area Technical College and was one of the best professors I ever had. His class was engaging and taught in a wise and clever way. When I visited during his office hours, he treated me with respect and gentleness. Jim inspired me to continue-on to become a licensed teacher. Like him, I traveled to Asia, and after some accomplishments abroad, I thought it would be a great time to get in touch and share. After searching the school website and not finding him, you can imagine my utter dismay to discover his obituary online. I missed him by forty-four days…forty-four. He was only 56! Attached is the exact photo I had intended to send him. It is the burial site in Ansan, South Korea of the most famous military man in their entire history, Admiral Yi Sun Shin. The photo foreshadowed what I had not yet learned about Mr. Bauknecht, and a sad irony. Today is the last day of 2021, and I still think about O Captain! my Captain!—he really meant a lot to me. We both loved literature, the Green Bay Packers, teaching, and Asia, all of which I am still engaged in to this day. Thank you Jim, there aren’t many like you. To his family, I can say he was only about 1 of 6 people in my life that shone brighter than all the rest, and I'm sorry for your loss. We both took unusual paths in life, and I regret not being able to regale with him our roads not taken. “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Goodbye Mr. Bauknecht, Your former student, Daniel Golemb