Gertrude D. Spatz
Gertrude D. Spatz, 97, of Wausau, passed away on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, surrounded by her loving family at Benedictine Living Community, Wausau.
She was born on March 12, 1924, in Wausau, the daughter of the late Anton and Pauline Lenard. On December 6, 1941, she married John A. Spatz, Jr. in Maquoketa, Iowa. He preceded her in death on October 1, 2001.
Gertrude was a kind, caring mother who never complained. She loved to cook and bake for her family. She also enjoyed needlepoint and collecting angel and cardinal items. She loved animals of all kinds, especially dogs. She enjoyed watching the birds at the feeder by her window. Playing bingo was a favorite pastime, and she was known for her winning streaks.
Gertrude was always quick to smile and offer compliments to others. She will be greatly missed by her family.
Survivors include her children, Joan (James) Binkowski of Weston, Gary (Bonnie) Spatz of Wausau, and Bruce Spatz of Wausau; daughter-in-law, Deborah Spatz of Wausau; 11 grandchildren, Jill, Jamie, Aaron, Carmon, David, Janet, Patricia, Kristopher, Joshua, Zachary and Tyler; 18 great-grandchildren, Anthony, James, Christopher, Kaitelyn, Cody, Finley, Callum, Odin, Haakon, Jason, Nathaniel, Dakota, Matthew, Lilah, Zander, Arthur, Abigail Kay, and Christopher; two great-great-grandchildren, Kayden and Jace; one sister, Cecelia Braun; many nieces, nephews, and extended family and friends, including Michelle Spatz and Nora Spatz; and her son Bruce’s dog, Molly, who she loved and adored.
In addition to her parents and husband John, she was further preceded in death by her son, Paul Spatz, granddaughter, Kelsey Spatz Schroeder, great-granddaughter, Hailey Spatz, great-grandson, Lucas Spatz, brothers, Theophilus “Phil”, Benedict, and Paul Lenard, and sister, Sophia Braun.
Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Monday, June 21, 2021, at St. Anne Parish, 700 W. Bridge St. Wausau. Rev. Tom Lindner will officiate. Burial will be at Restlawn Memorial Park, Wausau.
Visitation will be held from 10:00 A.M. until the time of service on Monday, all at the church. Family visitation will be from 9:00 A.M. until 10:00 A.M.
Brainard Funeral Home- Wausau Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements.
The funeral service will be live-streamed and can be viewed by visiting brainardfuneral.com and clicking on her obituary. You may also offer condolences and messages for her family there.
The family would like to thank the entire compassionate staff of Benedictine Living Community for the exceptional care and friendship shown to Gertie over the past 11 years, as well as Dr. Thomas Rengel, Dr. Thomas Stoffel, and Dr. Patrick Allen for their excellent care.
Sharon A. Koplitz
Sharon A. Koplitz, 78, Wausau, died Wednesday, June 16, 2021 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
Sharon was born May 27, 1943 in Wausau to the late Buster and Shirley (Hodge) Janz. She met Jim Koplitz as a teenager and the two were sweethearts throughout high school at Wausau East, uniting in marriage on June 10, 1961 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church. The couple was blessed with four children: Michael, Steven, Brian and Michele. Throughout the years, Sharon worked in the shipping department for Connor Forest Inductries as well as the floral departments of Trigs, Pick N Save and Krueger Floral.
Sharon was a wonderful wife and mother who loved everybody and was easy to talk to. She had a very strong work ethic and helped to pass that along to her children along with her good cooking (especially her potato salad and spaghetti & meatballs). In her free time, Sharon enjoyed snowmobiling during the winters with family and was a member of the Wausau Antique Auto Club.
Sharon is survived by her beloved husband of 60 years, Jim; son, Brian; daughter-in-law, Laura Koplitz; granddaughter, Amanda (Jeff) Sarauer; sister, Donna Janz and extended family and friends. She is preceded in death by 3 of her children, Steven, Michele Bonnell and Michael.
The memorial service for Sharon will be at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at Helke Funeral Home (302 Spruce Street, Wausau). Rev. Msgr. Mark Pierce will officiate. Visitation will be from 9:00 AM until the time of service at the funeral home on Tuesday. Helke Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements; you may sign our family guestbook at helke.com.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family.
The family would like to recognize the Wausau Police and Fire Dept. EMS for their prompt and diligent care for Sharon. They would also like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to Sharon’s longtime caregiver, Deb Coleman, for her years of compassionate care.
Dorothy G. Bessette
Dorothy Gee Bessette, 78, of Wausau, passed away peacefully at home on June 10, 2021.
Dorothy was born July 14, 1942 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and raised by the late Arthur Koy and Dorothy Robinson. She married James Gee on April 16, 1963 in Elgin, Illinois. James preceded her in death in 1986. Together, they had four kids, Michael, Tina, Steven and James. Michael and Tina proceeded her in death. Later in life, she married Clayton Bessette on December 16, 1995. He preceded her in death in 2012. Dolly was a hard worker and was employed at Kolbe & Kolbe for many years.
Dolly was quite a pistol, she was small but was a force to reckon with. She treasured time with her family, especially her grandkids. One thing that she absolutely loved was having everyone over for fried chicken. She had the best fried chicken. One of Dolly’s favorited hobby’s consisted of embroidery. She made anything from table cloths to pillow cases. She would give her creative pieces as gifts to friends and family. Dolly really enjoyed getting out of the house and going for walks, her grandkids have many fond memories of walking to the nearby Dairy Queen on a hot summer day. She liked listening to music, you could catch her playing Daniel O’Donnell or Alan Jackson. When she did watch television, her favorite included all the Hallmark channels. Dolly was an active member at Peace United Church, she genuinely enjoyed being a part of the congregation. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.
Dorothy is survived by her sons Steven (Michelle K.) Gee and James (Michelle Z.) Gee; and grandchildren Samantha (Trevor Bechel) Gee, Sandra (Tj Mckelvy) Gee, Derryck (Katie) Gee and Danyelle (Jared) Baumann; and extended family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents; husbands; son, Michael and daughter, Tina; and siblings Alfred, Alvin, Bertha, Gladys, Genevieve, June, Leroy, Orville, Vera, Lorraine, Virginia, Ernest, George, Donald, and Josephine.
A funeral service for Dorothy will be at 12:30 PM on Tuesday, June 22 at Helke Funeral Home. Rev. Gloria VanHouten will officiate. Visitation will be on Monday, June 21 from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM at Helke Funeral Home; resuming at 11:30 AM until the time of service at the funeral home. Dolly will be laid to rest in Restlawn Memorial Park following services. To share memories and condolences, please visit helke.com. Helke Funeral Home is assisting the family.
Memorials may be directed to the family.
Michael P. Coco
Michael P. Coco, 68, beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle, and friend from Wausau passed away Wednesday, June 16, 2021, at his home, with his wife Mary by his side.
He was born August 31, 1952, in Chicago, son of the late Henry and Catherine (Vadala) Coco. On September 4, 1988, he married Mary Theiler in Palatine, Illinois.
For over 50 years, Michael was a journeyman plumber. Some of his favorite pastimes included hunting, fishing, listening to music, and spending some time with his family.
Mike had so many skills and was so generous with time. He had a passion for helping his family, neighbors, and friends by doing plumbing, repairs, or whatever needed to be done where he could help.
Michael is survived by his wife, Mary Coco, Wausau, his children, Jennifer (Marc) Poncher, Buffalo Grove, IL, Lauren (Travis) Ohland, Palatine and Christopher Coco, Wausau, his grandchildren, Alexander Poncher and Liam Ohland, his siblings, Gloria Wisniewski, Mount Prospect, IL, Lawrence Coco, Morton Grove, IL, Carolyn Lilla, Virginia Beach and Marian (Danny) DeGroot, Palatine, IL, his brothers and sisters-in-law, Scott Theiler, Tomahawk, Jim (Michelle) Theiler, Wausau, Joe (Karen) Theiler, Wausau, Jennifer (Jim) Ecklund, Spring Grove, IL, Jack (Christine) Theiler, McHenry, IL, Mark (Anita) Theiler, Rhinelander, Jeane (Jerry) Otterholt, Tomahawk, Anne (David) Falasky, Wausau and Tricia Theiler, Overland Park, KS and many many many loved nieces and nephews.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his mother and father-in-law, Patricia and James Theiler, and his brothers-in-law, Paul Wisniewski and Lynn Lilla and Kevin and Tim Theiler.
Wisconsin visitation will be on Friday, June 25, 2021, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, 3400 Stewart Avenue, Wausau. Followed by Lunch.
Illinois visitation will be held on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. Visitation will be from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM followed by Mass at St Thomas of Villanova Catholic Church, 1201 E. Anderson Dr, Palatine, 60074. Followed by lunch.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com
Janice L. Bacon
Janice Lynn Bacon, 56, Wausau passed away on Thursday, June 17, 2021 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
Janice was born on December 21, 1964 in Antigo, Wisconsin. She was a daughter of Arnold and Darlene(Lenzner) Barta. Janice graduated from Antigo High School in 1984. She married Sparky(Mark) Bacon on October 9, 2004 at St. Mary & Hyacinth Catholic Church in Antigo, Wisconsin.
Janice loved spending every moment possible with Cecil, Sparky, and dog Amber. She enjoyed attending boy scouting events with Cecil and Sparky. Janice loved flowers and bird watching, cardinals being her favorite. Janice enjoyed working at Trigs and bagging groceries along with working at Pizza Ranch until she began the long battle against multiple kidney and bladder infections.
Survivors include her husband Sparky, son Cecil, her parents Arnold and Darlene Barta, and her sister Karen (Mark Seveda), and two nephews Matthew and Cody Seveda.
The Bacon family would like to give a special thanks to the Wausau Fire Department, Wausau Manor Health Services, and Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
The visitation will be held from 9am-11am and the funeral service will begin at 11am on Thursday, June 24, 2021 at St. Anne’s Parish in Wausau, Wisconsin. The service will be officiated by Father Tom Lindner.
John J. Buettgen Funeral Home, 948 Grand Avenue, Schofield is in charge of arrangements.
Harry A. Zoromski
Harry ‘H’ Zoromski, 86, of Galloway, died on Saturday, June 19, 2021 at his home.
H was born on August 28, 1934 in Galloway, the son of John and Frances (Janikowski) Zoromski.
H was a United States Army veteran serving during the Korean War. He was a member of the Elderon Memorial Post #8068 Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was grateful to attend the Never Forgotten Honor Flight.
On October 11, 1958, H was united in marriage to Florence Woyak at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Galloway. She preceded him in death on November 1, 2003.
H farmed for many years. He was a very hard worker and avid outdoorsman and could often be found hunting, fishing or in his garden. Harry loved helping people and made several missionary trips to El Salvador and Guatemala. He enjoyed the time spent with his family and will be deeply missed.
H is survived by his children, Dennis (Sally) Bushman, Mary Beth (Gerry) Mancl, Jeff (Tammy) Bushman, Gary (Cheri) Zoromski, Mike (Tam) Zoromski and Patti (Bill) Peters; 23 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; siblings, Joe Zoromski, Emerick (Dorothy) Zoromski, Gerald (Bonnie) Zoromski and Mary Ann Slaby and a sister-in-law, Audrey Zoromski.
H was preceded in death by his wife; parents; a son, Sam; great-grandson, Blake and siblings, Father Herb, John, Gene, Jim and Rudy.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11AM on Saturday, June 26, 2021 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Galloway. Fr. Augustine Bentil will preside. Burial will be in the Parish cemetery with military rites. Visitation will be on Saturday from 9AM until the time of Mass at the church.
Schmidt & Schulta Funeral Home, Wittenberg is assisting the family with funeral arrangements. Memories and messages of support may be shared at schmidtschulta.com
