Surnames: Schwellenbach, Resong, Pace, Bahr, Domine, Van Brocklin, Summbell, Lami, Owens, Grosse

----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis.) Tue, Mar 8, 2005

Schwellenbach, Bernhardt 'Ben' Albert (14 March 1910 - 7 March 2005)

NEILLSVILLE -Bernhardt "Ben" Albert Schwellenbach, 94, of Neillsville died Monday, March 7, 2005, at the Memorial Nursing Home in Neillsville.

A Mass of Christian burial for Ben will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 10, 2005, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Neillsville. The celebrant will be the Very Rev. Father Woodrow Pace. Music will be provided by Ronnie Resong, organist, and St. Mary's Choir. Interment will be in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, at Gesche Funeral Home with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m.

Ben was born March 14, 1910, the son of Edward and Annetta (Bahr) Schwellenbach. He attended Globe School and one year of high school. After his parents' death, Ben was on his own at the age of 16. He worked on farms, hauled milk and worked in the wheat fields in the Dakotas and for a logging company in Globe. He married Helen Domine on Sept. 14, 1936, in Loyal. They operated a root beer stand in Waukegan, Ill., from 1948 to 1952. When they moved back to the area, Ben worked as a mechanic in Loyal and Neillsville before starting his own shop in Christie. He started the Massey-Harris Implement business. Ben enjoyed hunting, fishing and woodworking.

Ben is survived by his two sons, Edward (Ronda) Schwellenbach of Janesville and Delmane Schwellenbach of Neillsville; six grandchildren, Julie (Mike) Schwellenbach, Pamela (Sam) Van Brocklin, Lisa (Mark) Summerbell, Becky (John) Lami, Mark (Kay) Schwellenbach and Jody (Brent) Owens; and 12 great-grandchildren, Matthew, Katielyn, Benjamin, Christopher, Alex, Michael, Brandon, Megan, Lukas, Jacob, Tyson and Shiloh. He is further survived by a sister, Adeline Grosse.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen; sisters, Edna Schwellenbach and Sister RoseMarie Isabella Schwellenbach; and a brother, Ernest Schwellenbach.