Surnames: Counsell, Zank, Conklin, Donahue, Pekol, Mosley, Schroeder, Drost, Landini, Wilke, Blaskowski, Chubb, Noah

----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood County, Wis.) Tue, Jun 28, 2005

Counsell, Jack Murray (19 July 1932 - 26 June 2005)

W/flag

NEILLSVILLE -Jack M. Counsell, age 72, of Neillsville died on Sunday, June 26, 2005, in the Palliative Care Unit at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.

Funeral services for Jack will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, June 30, 2005, at the Gesche Funeral Home in Neillsville. The Rev. Craig Conklin will officiate. Providing music will be Eileen Zank, organist.

A visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and again from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Thursday, both at the funeral home.

Serving as honorary casket bearers will be Frank Donahue, John Donahue, Bill Donahue, Ed Donahue and Chris Pekol. Serving as casket bearers will be Dale Zank, Mike Pekol, Bob Mosley, Dick Schroeder, Jim Drost and Louie Landini.

Jack Murray Counsell was born July 19, 1932, the son of John and Henrietta (Wilke) Counsell in Marshfield. He attended school in Neillsville and graduated from Neillsville High School. He then joined the Navy, serving from 1951 to 1955 as an aircraft engine mechanic. He was stationed in many locations during the Korean War, including Hawaii, Tennessee, Florida, California, Guam, Kwaziland and the Wake Islands. After his discharge from the Navy, Jack worked for Autotest in Neillsville, Rollohome in Marshfield and Fischer Body in Janesville. He also worked for Badger Telecom as a lineman and that is where he met his wife, Joan Blaskowski. Jack and Joan were married on Aug. 11, 1956, in Dubuque, Iowa. They bought a farm on the Pine Valley and Grant township line and still own it today. Along with running the farm, Jack worked for the Neillsville post office starting as janitor and working his way up to rural letter carrier, which he did for 30 years. Jack retired at age 55 and went to delivering USA Today seven days a week followed by the Marshfield News-Herald up until he went into the hospital.

Jack loved hunting and would make trips out west every year to hunt. He also loved trap shooting. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, American Legion, NRA, Ducks Unlimited, Whitetails Unlimited, Ruffed Grouse Association and Rural Letter Carriers Association, where he was the union steward.

Jack is survived by his wife, Joan; a daughter, Laura Chubb-Counsell (Jerry) of Deerfield; and a grandson, J.J. (Sasha) Chubb of Rib Mountain. He is further survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Betty Noah.