Obit: Happe, Oliver F. (1911 - 2007)

Contact: Crystal Wendt
Email:  crystal@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Happe, Bandt, Zimmerman, Hinks, Malkowski, Carter

----Sources: Reporter (Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac Co., Wis.) Thursday, November 29, 2007

Happe, Oliver F. (10 Feb. 1911 - 26 Nov. 2007)

Oliver F. Happe

Oliver F. Happe of Ripon, died on Nov. 26, 2007, after suffering a stroke on Oct. 31. He was 96.

Oliver was born on Feb. 10, 1911, in Clark County, Wis., the son of Arthur H. and Tonia W. Bandt Happe. He graduated from Granton High School in 1929 and worked as a carpenter and at other jobs during the depression.

He married Iva Jeanette Zimmerman on Oct. 30, 1935. The family moved to Ripon in 1940, and in 1941 Oliver started a 35-year career at Speed Queen, where he eventually became a senior project engineer. During the war years he worked as a foreman in the shell shop and magneto department and was a street warden. He was instrumental in setting up the Press Shop in Ripon and opening factories in Juneau, Wis., and Searcy, Ark.

Oliver was a member of Immanuel United Methodist Church and was involved in the building of the new church in 1956. He was a volunteer fireman in the 40's and 50's and served eight years on the Ripon Health Commission. He was a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and Fox Valley Society of Industrial Engineers.

He is survived by son, Douglas (Doris) Happe of New Brighton, Minn.; a daughter, Marianne Happe of Locust Valley, N.Y.; his grandchildren, Jonathan (Andrea) Happe and Jeanne (Jerry) Hinks, of Minnesota; his great-grandchildren, Annie Laurie Hinks, Brennan Joseph Hinks, James Douglas Hinks and Paul Jonathan Happe; a daughter-in-law, Janice Happe of Ripon; a brother, Arthur (Maxine) Happe of Oregon; nieces; nephews, and a dear friend, Doris Malkowski of Oshkosh.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Iva in 2001; a son, Kenneth C. Happe in 1990; a son, Stanley F. Happe in 1993; his parents; a brother, Wesley Happe; and a sister, Lucille Carter.

Services: A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2007, at Immanuel United Methodist Church, 401 W. Fond du Lac St., Ripon.

Visitation: The family will receive friends from 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2007, prior to the service at the church. Private family inurnment will be at Woodlawn Cemetery, Ripon.

Memorials may be made to Immanuel United Methodist Church or to a charity of the donor's choice.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

Butzin-Marchant Funeral Home, Ripon, is assisting the family. www.butzinmarchant .com