Jim taught biology at Rice Lake High School, where he was also assistant football coach and wrestling coach from 1957 to 1967. He was the first wrestling coach at RLHS when the sport was established in 1957. Under Stauffer, the Warriors posted a dual meet record of 90-16-1. In Heart O’ The North duals, his record was 46-5-1. The Warriors won 5 Heart O’ The North Conference Championships, 5 Regional titles, and 1 Sectional title. In his 10 years as a Warrior wrestling coach, Jim had 20 wrestlers qualify for the WIAA State Wrestling Tournament. Stauffer then went on to establish the wrestling program at UW-Barron County Campus. From 1968 to 1976 the Chargers won 5 Wisconsin collegiate conference titles. Prior to coming to Rice Lake, Jim graduated from Naperville High School in Naperville, IL in 1942. He served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1046 as a member of Underwater Demolition Team #3. In 1948, he received his B.A. degree at Carleton College, in 1952 he received his B.S. degree at UW-Eau Claire, and in 1970 he received his Masters Degree from the University of Montana. Jim taught high school biology at Swawano high school from 1952 to 1957. Jim was also a founding father of the Rice Lake Ducks Unlimited chapter, served as chairman from 1972 to 1975 and as a committee member for 20 years. He passed away in 1992 at the age of 67.