Kenneth J. Andraski
Attorney Kenneth J. Andraski, age 72, of Wausau, WI, passed away on Wednesday, January 12th, 2022, under the care of the staff at the Aspirus Hospice House in Wausau.
Ken was born March 4, 1949, in Chicago, IL, to the late John Andraski and Natalie (Page) Pagryzinski. He attended elementary and intermediate school at St. Therese in Rothschild, WI, where he served as an altar boy. Ken attended Newman Catholic High School in Wausau, where he was a quarterback for the football team, drum major of the marching band, and president of student council before graduating in 1967.
Ken was a proud alumnus of the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with Honors in 1971 and Juris Doctor (J.D.) with Honors in 1974. Ken was selected as a Rhodes Scholar finalist and clerked for two summers at the Crooks Law Firm in Wausau. During his time as a student, friends playfully referred to him as “Uncle” because he was unusually studious and responsible. His friends and classmates enjoyed that Ken spent so much time at the library because it was convenient for them to find him when they needed his help.
Upon graduating from UW Madison, Ken briefly practiced labor law in Eau Claire before returning to Wausau to become an Assistant District Attorney in Marathon County. Ken transitioned to private practice with Jerry Maeder of Maeder Law in Wausau before transitioning to practice with a group of friends, which included Jim Lonsdorf, Tuck Mallory, Jeff Hertz, Terry Garski, and Tom Timken. Ken and Jim eventually decided to form a partnership known as Lonsdorf & Andraski, LLP. After several successful decades of partnership, Jim retired and the firm became Andraski Law Offices, LLC. Ken loved his work and spent many late nights calling clients and preparing for trials. Ken retired in October 2021 after practicing law for 47 years.
Ken married Jeanne (Kohlbeck) Hahn of Lancaster, WI, in 1972, with whom they shared one daughter, the late Sarah Andraski. Ken later married Kathleen Grant of Madison, WI, with whom they shared one son, Erik Andraski, and daughter, Alissa Andraski. On December 30, 1999, Ken married Alice (Peterson) Weller at First Presbyterian Church in Wausau and they would share 22 beautiful years together. Ken felt blessed in his marriage and always referred to Alice as his “bride” long after their wedding day. They enjoyed spending time at their cottage, weekend trips to Door County, visiting with close friends and neighbors, and exploring the world as they traveled.
Ken was known for his warm, witty humor and enjoyed writing letters to friends and family that included his opinion of sports, news, and political events of the day. He also enjoyed joking with friends during his lunch hour runs at the Woodson YMCA. Ken was a sports enthusiast who enjoyed playing in the men’s basketball league on Saturday mornings, looked forward every year to the Gus Macker Basketball Tournament, and attended as many of his kids’ and grandkids’ sporting events as he could. He was an avid fan of the Badgers football and basketball teams, as well as the Green Bay Packers.
Ken was an active member of his community and contributed to many causes throughout his lifetime, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, YMCA Youth Programs, The Woodson YMCA, Newman Catholic High School, UW Madison Law School, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, World Wildlife Fund/Worldwide Fund for Nature, The Nature Conservancy, The Salvation Army, The Neighbors Place, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and multiple law enforcement and firefighter endowments.
Ken is preceded in death by his father, John, and daughter, Sarah. He is survived by his wife, Alice Andraski of Wausau; his mother, Natalie Andraski of Wausau; one son, Erik Andraski of Madison; one daughter, Alissa Andraski of Chicago; three stepsons, Nathan (Kelly) Weller of Weston, WI, Jeremy (Emily) Weller of De Pere, WI, Abram (Vicky) Weller of Weston, WI; and three siblings, Connie (Will) Ott of Prescott, AZ, Brian (Janet) Andraski of Minden, NV, Todd (Louise) Andraski of Stoughton, WI. Ken had six nieces and nephews, seven grandchildren, numerous cousins and relatives, and countless friends.
Visitation will be held from 4:00pm til 6:00 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at Brainard Funeral Home, 522 Adams St., Wausau. Memorial Service will be held at 12:00pm on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 150202 County Road NN, Wausau, WI 54401. Pastor Justin Smoot will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Ken can be made to the Woodson YMCA Youth Programs.
Charles W. Shipway
Charles W. Shipway, 92, of Wausau went to see his Lord on January 16, 2022 with his beautiful wife of 67 years, Arleen, holding him in their bed at home where he wanted to die. He passed with the assistance of Aspirus Hospice care after having been hospitalized with interstitial lung disease six days prior. During one of Arleen’s visits with him at the hospital, he asked to have her wheeled over to him so he could hold her hand for a minute as he could not get up to hug her – nothing quite like loving touch. In 1976 he contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome as a reaction to the swine flu shot. For the next two years Arleen nursed him back to health. Since that time, his biggest concern was taking care of Arleen.
Charles was born to Charles and Selma (Hemler) Shipway in Wausau. Upon graduation from Wausau High, he lived a short time in Milwaukee, then joined the Air Force serving during the Korean conflict in Alaska as an airplane mechanic. He thoroughly loved participating in an Honor flight in 2014. After the Air Force he returned to Wausau where he met Arleen and they raised five children. He began employment at GTE as a line man and retired as a supervisor in 1986.
In retirement he worked for Walmart and at the YMCA part-time until 2019. He loved his time at the YMCA; in his younger years one could see him swimming laps every lunch hour. He achieved his goal of logging enough miles to lap the planet (24,901 miles). He served for decades as the Treasurer of Catholic Order of Foresters. His volunteer interests included ushering at The Grand Theater, staffing the polls on election days, refereeing for the Gus Macker basketball tournament, staffing at the Wausau Tri-Athlon, and Videotaping services at St. Stephens Lutheran Church. Chuck and Arleen traveled extensively in retirement and spent winters in Scottsdale for a number of years. He was a constant home project guy – he loved them; often saying he could not live in an apartment or condo as he would miss doing home projects.
Charles loved the simpler things in life. Sitting in the sun with Arleen, building a fire on cool nights, watching any Wisconsin sports with the cat on his lap, an ice cream bar for lunch and playing with the great grand kids. On his last day when he had very little energy left, he lifted his hands and growled like a tiger with a great grandchild. When the grandkids were younger, he and Arleen babysat and played with them – a very special time in their lives.
Survivors include his wife, Arleen (Rau) Shipway; sister Joanne (Orville) Heinz; five children: Debra (Gary Mussell) Shipway of Warrenville, Il, Kim Shipway of Scottsdale, AZ, Michael (Lee) Shipway of Wausau, Richard Shipway of Milwaukee, Barb (James) Haakenson of Indianapolis, IN; four grandchildren: Patrick (Julie) Shipway of Burnsville, MN, Samantha Shipway of New Richmond, Brandon Haakenson of Tempe, AZ, Katrina Haakenson of Indianapolis, IN; two great grandchildren: Isabella and Lily Shipway of Burnsville, MN and numerous nieces and nephews.
Along with his parents, Charles was preceded in death by his sister Virginia Shipway, sister-in-law Joyce Brown, brother-in-law Gordon Brown, and mother-in-law Hattie Rau.
A private family service is being arranged by Brainard Funeral Home, Wausau. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Aspirus Hospice Care for their care and support. In Chuck’s honor, donations can be directed to St. Stephens Church, Wausau or the Marathon County Humane Society.
Charles E. Clark
Charles Eugene Clark was born in Kentucky to Grace Clark on January 23, 1929. At a young age, Grace relocated to Wisconsin with Charles and his older brother, Delmar. They settled in Lake Geneva, where Grace met and married Loren Loveland who had an infant son, Alan. Growing up in Lake Geneva, Charles was known as Gene Loveland. He attended Lake Geneva High School where he met the love of his life, Tirzah Ellsworth.
In 1949, upon Gene applying for a marriage license, he was informed that his legal name was in fact Charles Eugene Clark. Quite the gossip chain began when the local newspaper announced that Tirzah Ellsworth was engaged to Charles Clark, not her High School sweetheart Gene Loveland. Shortly after marriage Gene and Tirz had 2 daughters, Zana and Tracy. They called Fontana home, life was good, fun, and filled with family adventures. Gene was an elementary physical education teacher and later went on to be an administrator for Twin Lakes Elementary School.
In 1969, the family moved to Lauderdale Lakes in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Education was always a priority and at the age of 42 he received his PHD in psychology, which led him to his final job as the psychologist and Director of Pupil Services at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Gene loved his family and lived life to its fullest, embracing every opportunity to “teach” others about nature and life. Gene was a natural athlete excelling in every sport and was a runner before running was stylish. At 55, he ran his first marathon in Milwaukee with his daughter, Zana. He loved cross country motor cycle trips, flying his Cessna 172, playing games, duck hunting, fishing, and watching sports. Through his love of watching sports, he vicariously taught Tirz to love sports as well.
When Gene and Tirz retired they bought a home on the Manitowish Chain to be closer to their two grandchildren, Clark and Treva, their pride and joy and became affectionately known as Papa.
Many memories were made at Camp Clark. A round of golf, shooting bb’s at Pepsi cans, telling WWII stories, fishing, snowmobiling, and the list goes on. We were always guaranteed a great day up north. Papa believed in magical moments and if fishing didn’t ensure a catch, he secretly attached a muskie sucker to get the grandkids a bite. Being Papa was truly his favorite pastime.
Gene and Tirz spent 30+ years in the Northwoods, until moving to Wausau to be closer to their daughter Tracy and her family as they both faced health issues including Tirz enduring a femur fracture surgery and both contracting Covid. In November of 2020, Gene and Tirz moved to Renaissance Assisted Living. At Renaissance, Gene once again became known as Charles. Being in Renaissance allowed them many opportunities to be close to family and assured they would always be together.
Charles passed away peacefully with his wife and family by his side on January 1, 2022, just 22 days shy of his 93rd birthday. Charles Eugene Clark (Gene Loveland) is survived by his wife of 73 years, Tirzah Ellsworth Clark; daughters, Zana Clark, Milwaukee, and Tracy (Stewart) Etten, Wausau; grandchildren, Clark (Alyssa Greene), Mendota Heights, MN, and Treva, Wausau.
Charles is also survived by his stepbrother, Alan (Carole) Loveland and his nephew, Shane, Hayward; sister-in-law, Shirl Scharine, Whitewater; brother-in-law, Ed (Carole) Ellsworth, Morgan Hill, CA, and many loving nephews, nieces, and lifelong friends.
The family would like to thank the loving staff and caretakers at Renaissance, Aspirus Hospice, and Jamie from Interim Health Care.
A private family gathering will be in Manitowish Waters in the spring of 2022.
Charles, Gene, Papa was the best of the best. He was our hero, our teacher, and our rock. We will hold the many memories dear to our hearts until we meet again.
Scot Steppert
Scot Steppert, age 62, of Weston died on Thursday, January 13, 2022 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
Scott was born on April 3, 1959 to the late Carl and Joyce (Priebe) Steppert. He was united in marriage to Vicki Sillars. Scot enjoyed the outdoors and could often be found camping, fishing, boating, snowmobiling, and golfing. He also enjoyed bowling.
Scot is survived by his wife, Vicki Steppert; children Shannon Steppert-Benes and Michael Steppert; grandchildren Silver Steppert, Devlin Benes and CJ Benes; great grandchildren Hope and Nova Benes; and brothers Shad Steppert and Sidd (Brenda) Steppert.
Private family services were held.
Jewell H. E. Birkholz
Jewell H. E. Birkholz, 95, Wausau, passed away on Friday, January 14, 2022 at Wausau Manor, under the care of Aspirus Comfort Care and Hospice Services.
She was born December 10, 1926 in Wausau, daughter of the late Emil and Margaret (Deckerdt) Laabs. On June 7, 1945, she married John Birkholz in Wausau. He preceded her in death on January 16, 1980.
For over 40 years, Jewell worked as head housekeeper for the Holiday Inn, Wausau until her retirement. She was an avid lover of animals, loved to dance and swim and enjoyed listening to music, especially Johnny Cash. Jewell also enjoyed reading and helping out her family every step of the way.
She adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was affectionately known as everyone’s “Grandma”.
Survivors include, her son, Buckley (Linda) Birkholz, Wausau; four grandchildren, Christina (Corey) Sessions, Katie Husar, Buckley J. II (Nicole) Birkholz and Ashlee (Bradley Hanson) Birkholz; and six great-grandchildren, Crystal (Brian) Lightsley, Dameyn Sessions, Michael Sessions, Emilie Birkholz, Henry Hanson and Edith Jean Birkholz.
Besides her parents and husband, John, she was preceded in death by her son, Scotty Birkholz; and three siblings.
Funeral services are pending for May of 2022 at Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, 1302 Sixth Street, Wausau. Date and time will be announced.
Deloris A. Dumdey
Deloris A. Dumdey, 97, died Friday, January 14, 2022 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
She was born October 30, 1924 in Wausau, daughter of the late Vincent and Louise (Machyniak) Slaminski. On September 9, 1944 she married Robert W. Dumdey Sr. in Wausau and he preceded her in death on March 13, 1986.
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, January 20, 2022 at Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, 1302 Sixth Street, Wausau. Visitation will be Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of services all at the Sixth Street funeral home.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com
Thomas J. Babl
Thomas “Tom” James Babl, 76, Ringle passed away on Sunday, January 16, 2022, at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
He was born August 23, 1945, in Milwaukee, son of the late Joseph and Florence (Washburn) Babl. On April 19, 1969, he married Bonnie Lewandowski in Round Lake, IL. She survives.
Prior to Tom’s retirement he was a journeyman electrician for the State of Wisconsin. Some of his favorite pastimes included deer hunting, square and line dancing, scuba diving, making maple syrup and gardening. Tom enjoyed starting his plants from seeds in his own greenhouse and also had about four acres of pumpkins that he raised. He also played Santa Claus at Easton and Hatley schools for over twenty years.
Tom proudly served his country in the United States Army as a Green Beret from March 1965 to March of 1968.
Survivors include his wife, Bonnie Babl, Ringle, his children, Thomas Joseph Babl, Weston, Todd (Sara) Babl and Amy Lyn Babl, both of Rothschild, his grandchildren, Mason, Ava, Morgan and Audrey Babl and many nieces and nephews.
Besides his parents he was preceded in death by his sisters, Barbara Cole, Patricia Schoenung and Dolores Gronowski and his brothers, Donald, William and John and an infant brother, Oakley.
A Memorial Visitation will be held on Sunday, January 23, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, 1302 Sixth Street, Wausau. In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be directed to the Never Forgotten Honor Flight, Wausau. Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com
Jean A. Kedrowski
Jean Ann (Forcey) Kedrowski, 81 of Wausau passed away on January 15th 2022 from a long battle with pulmonary Embolism. She was the Daughter of Robert and Marion Forcey (Laut). She enjoyed her family, faith, music, traveling, cross country skiing, canoeing, and walking on frozen Lake Wausau.
Jean was a graduate from Newman High School, and received a marketing degree at NTC.
She was in carpet sales and also followed her passion of home interior decorating. She later fulfilled her career at John J. Buettgen Funeral Home formerly Hayden Funeral Home where she retired after many years.
She is survived by her children, Son Eric (Christine) Kedrowski, Wausau. Daughter Jeannine (John) Staeck, Grand Children Connie Walters, Corrin (Kyle) Rosine, Kyle Walters, Tina (John) Ransom, Ryan (Amy) Gutowski Great Grand Children Finley & Owen Rosine, Devon (Jenna) Gutowski, Hudson & Raleigh Ransom, Great-Great Grand Children Milo Gutowski. And her Ex Husband/Friend Larry, (Christine) Kedrowski.
She was preceded in death by her parents Robert & Marion Forcey, Mother-In-Law Regina Kedrowski.
There will be a celebration of life at John J. Buettgen Funeral Home 948 Grand Avenue Schofield, WI on Sunday, January 23, 200 from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Online condolences may be expressed at HonorOne.com
Casey R. Kleman
Casey R. Kleman, 41 of Hatley, died unexpectedly on Sunday, January 16, 2022 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
Casey was born on April 9, 1980 in Wausau, the son of James and Lenore (Turnski) Kleman.
Casey was a 1999 graduate of D.C. Everest High School. He played football and was a member of the 1998 State Championship team.
On October 30, 2010, Casey was united in marriage to Kelly Criswell in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Casey was employed at Greenheck for 12 years and was currently employed at Crystal Finishing. Casey was a people person and could talk with anybody and he was quite the host when people would come to visit. He loved taking care of his house and the work that went with it. He truly loved spending time on his deck by the pool and in his man shed. The couple enjoyed decorating for the holidays, and Halloween was their favorite, in addition to their annual family traditions they created with their children. He was a true family man and cherished the time spent with his wife and children and vacationing with them. Casey also really enjoyed coaching Kyle’s soccer team. Over the years, Casey also enjoyed boating, snowmobiling, golfing and dancing anywhere to any kind of music.
Casey is survived by his wife, Kelly; children, Kyle and Charlotte; father, James Kleman; siblings, Cory (Cindy) Kleman and Cindy (Darrell) Thelen; sister-in-law, Kim (Steve Minch) Criswell and nieces and nephew, Adam (Michelle) Kleman, Jordyn and Marissa Kleman, Taylor Thelen and Savannah Smith.
Casey was preceded in death by his mother, Lenore and the grandparents who raised Kelly, Urban and Melva Payment.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11AM on Saturday, January 22, 2022 at St. Florian’s Catholic Church, Hatley. Fr. Greg Bohren will preside. Visitation will be on Friday from 4PM to 7PM and again on Saturday from 9AM until the time of Mass, all 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.
