Laverne I. Osswald

Laverne Ione (Paulman) Osswald, 91, went to her heavenly home, April 1, 2021.


Laverne was born May 13, 1929 in the town of Easton to the late Arthur Paulman and Ada (Paulman) Brendenmeuhl. Laverne married the love of her life, Walter Henry Osswald on August 9th, 1946.

With Walter serving in the U.S. Air Force, the two traveled and lived in various cities throughout the country. They would finally settle on the farm in Wausau, Wisconsin.

She loved tending to her beautiful garden and bird watching. Laverne was also a gifted seamstress, knitter, puzzle solver, bookworm, Badger football fan, animal lover and professional spoiler to her grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.


Laverne is preceded in death by her late husband Walter Osswald, father Arthur Paulman, mother Ada Brendenmeuhl, step-father George Brendenmeuhl, brother Del Paulman and brother Dale Brendenmeuhl.


Laverne is survived by her children, Walter (Mary), Chris (Jennifer), Kathy, Mark and Kim; 15 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren.


Laverne was a loving and devoted Christian, daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, cousin, grandmother, great grandmother, great great grandmother, friend and will be deeply missed.


The funeral mass will be celebrated at The Church of Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thursday, April 8, 2021. Visitation will be held at 9:30am and service to follow at 10:30am.  Brainard Funeral Home will be assisting the family with arrangements.

Cynthia K. Diesen

Cynthia K. Diesen, 69, of Weston, left us unexpectedly and too soon on April 2, 2021.

Cynthia was born on St. Patrick’s Day, 1952, in Watertown, South Dakota to parents Edwin and Lavonne (Handeland) Fuller.

She received her bachelor’s degree from South Dakota State University and taught preschool for 9 years. David and Cynthia were leaders in the incorporation of the Village of Weston. She also worked 23 years with the DC Everest School District as a paraprofessional. She became the Union President for the Paraprofessionals Union.

Cynthia was a loyal member of Wesley United Methodist Church. She spent her time volunteering at St. Clare’s Hospital, the Open Door; where she also served as the previous President of the Board for Open Door and was an active alumnus of South Dakota State University.

Cynthia helped Dave run Diesen Dental Studio for 32 years. In her free time, Cynthia enjoyed traveling, snorkeling, photography, camping, singing, bird watching, gardening and spending time at the cabin.

She loved spending time with her grandkids, being crafty, and finding the best bargains. Her leaving us so soon leaves a hole in our hearts, but how lucky we are to have had something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

Cynthia is survived by her husband, David Diesen; daughter, Michelle (Ryan) Weed; son, Mark Diesen; grandchildren, Lauren Weed, Alex Diesen and Zoe Diesen; sister, Sandra (Jeff) Harms; brother, Richard (Jan) Fuller; nieces, Heidi Harms, Gretchen (Joel) Drey; nephew, Keene Fuller. She is preceded in death by her mother and father.  

Visitation for Cynthia will be held Saturday, April 10, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1101 Elm Street, Wausau.

A funeral service to celebrate her life will be held at 2:00 PM following a short break from visitation. Rev. Ethan Larson will officiate.

Brainard Funeral Home- Everest Chapel is assisting our family.

Mai Lily Vang

Mai Lily Vang was born on April 5, 1990 in California when her life was taken on Sunday morning of March 21, 2021. She was just about to turn 31 when the tragic event occurred. She leaves behind her children and many friends and family members. 

Mai mainly went by the name of “Lily” and she enjoyed spending time with her friends and family.

Her favorite hobby includes designing and decorating nails which she does for living by working for a nail salon.  

In our family, she brought us all together with all her warm home cooked meals. Lily had the biggest heart. Her laughter was contagious and she always made the people around her laugh and smile. She was the type of person who would always give more than what she had, and welcomed everyone with open arms.

She was a modest person and was always willing to help anyone out whenever she could. In Grey’s anatomy, there’s a saying of a “go-to person” that person is someone you can never get mad at, someone you cannot live without, someone you can always go to for everything, and someone who you know will always support you. Lily was that person for us all. She always lent her shoulder for us even though she herself was going through problems. She allowed all of us to shed tears and feel normal. She allowed all of us to know that it’s okay to not be okay.

We all will definitely miss her hugs and laughter. Her dedication as a mother and her love for her four beautiful children can never be replaced. To Lily, her wish was to always have a baby girl as she had three straight pregnancies with boys that had complications. At last her wishes were granted, and both her and the baby were healthy. But unfortunately, she is unable to see her only baby girl grow. Coming up on April 5th, it would have been her 31st birthday. And although she isn’t here with us to celebrate it, she will forever be in our hearts as we will celebrate her wonderful life.

The survivors of Lily’s family include, her four children, Jake Thao, Bradley Thao, Yashi Lo and Yuvane Lo; her parents, Thao Vang (Father) and La Yang (Mother) and Zha Vang (Stepmother); seven brothers; Rocky (Mailee Xiong) Vang, Bruce (Ia Lor) Vang, Dria (Maitong Yang) Vang, Money (Jeu Yang) Vang, Bee (Alina Cha) Vang, Peter (Mai Xiong) Vang and Andrew Koua Vang; seven sisters; Mai (Ritchie Kue) Vang,  Nikki (Nicholas Chea) Vang, Ger (Dao Yang) Vang, Nancy Vang, Wendy Vang, Jessica (Toua Kue) Vang and Feanna Vang; Mai also had many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her oldest sister, PaHoua Vang who passed away back in 2007 of August.

Funeral services will be held at Peterson Kraemer Funeral Home, 3400 Stewart Avenue, Wausau on Saturday, April 17th, 2021 from 8:00 until 1:00 p.m.

Burial will be taking place at the Pine Grove Cemetery of Wausau, 

1501 Grand Ave, Wausau, WI 54403.

James M. Marth

James Marth passed away on Good Friday, April 2, 2021, after battling cancer.

He was born to Frank and Adela (Voigt) Marth on May 14, 1935, in the Town of Hamburg.

Jim married Marlene Weise in September of 1957. She passed away in November of 1987 after battling cancer. Later, Jim married Beatrice “Bea” Schoelzel (Christianson) in March 1989. She, as well, passed away from cancer in March 2010.

Jim served in the United States Army Reserves for 16 years. He spent most of his working career at Murray Machinery and Foundry until the plant closed in the 1980s. Jim spent the rest of his working career with John Ohrmundt Construction as a carpenter, painter, and all-around multi-tasker until his retirement.

Jim enjoyed working on his lawn at his home. He was a very good handyman who was willing to help others with their projects. Jim had a mobile home at Little Rice Resort in Hazelhurst, WI. For over 40 years, he very much enjoyed fishing on the Willow Flowage. Jim was also an avid deer hunter. He hunted with many friends and their families at the Buck Horn Cottage in New Wood every fall for most of his life. Jim also enjoyed playing cards every Wednesday during the winter months at Jumpers Bar in Little Chicago with his group of buddies.

Besides his parents and wives, Jim was preceded in death by one brother, Milton Marth; and two sisters, Eldora Degner, and Jerraine Holtman; as well as his niece, Jodene Holtman. He is survived by three stepchildren and extended family members and friends.

The family wishes to thank Aspirus Cancer Center, Aspirus Comfort Care & Hospice Services, and Benedictine Manor. A sincere thank you to nephew, Jim Holtman, and stepdaughter, Peggy Christianson, for taking care of Jim at his home during his declining health.

Funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 9th, 2021 at Helke Funeral Home, 302 Spruce Street, Wausau. Pastor Erik Olson of First English Lutheran Church, Wausau, will officiate. Burial will be in St. Peter Lutheran Cemetery, Town of Hamburg.

Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service at the funeral home. Masks and social distancing will be observed. Jim’s service will be live-streamed and available for future viewing on his obituary page at www.helke.com.

God bless you, Jim.