Surnames: Vaitonis, Strigauskus, Loos, Shakenis, Butrimus

----Source: OWEN ENTERPRISE (Owen, Clark County, Wis.) 05/21/1942

Vaitonis, Anton (6 JAN 1884 - 21 MAY 1942)

Funeral service arrangements are now being made for Anton Vaitonis, 58, prominent farmer in the Town of Longwood (Clark Co., Wis.), who passed away this morning at Luther Hospital at Eau Claire. Mr. Vaitonis has been a patient in the Eau Claire Hospital for the past several weeks, suffering from a complication of ailments.

He is survived by his wife and a son, Anton of Los Angeles, Calif., and a daughter, Mrs. C.G. Loos of Colby, Wis.

Services will be conducted from the Griebenow Funeral Parlors on Saturday afternoon, May 23. The Enterprise will carry a complete obituary in next week’s issue.

(Follow on in 5/28/1942 Owen Enterprise)

Final rites were conducted for Anton Vaitonis, 58, from the Griebenow Funeral Parlors, at two o’clock Saturday afternoon, May 23, with Rev. R.E. Ortmayer officiating.

Pallbearers were Glenn Ivey, John Bunzchek, John Zawadski, Jess Capes, Art Swenson and Peter Kessenick.

Flower girls were Fay Opdycke, Mrs. Wilford Criswell, Mrs. John Bonczyk and Julia Pumputis.

Anton Vaitonis, a farmer in the Town of Longwood at the time of his death, was born on Jan. 6, 1884, in Lithuania, where he spent his early boyhood, coming to the United States in 1907, when a lad of 13. As a young man he worked in the coal mines near Pittsburg, Pa., after which he moved to Chicago, Ill., where he secured employment as a carpenter.

On Jan. 18, 1914, he was united in marriage to Ellen Strigauskus of Owen. The couple made their home in Chicago where Mr. Vaitonis established himself in the contracting business in which he was very successful.

In 1929 he and his wife and a daughter, Helen (Mrs. C.G. Loos of Colby), and a son, Anton Jr., of Los Angeles, Calif., moved to this vicinity and made their home on a farm at Longwood, where he spent the remainder of his life.

His health had been failing since the first of the year when a complication of ailments necessitated his hospitalization in Marshfield in February. He spent two weeks in the hospital at that time receiving treatment before returning home. However, three weeks ago his condition again became worse and he was admitted to the Luther Hospital at Eau Claire, where he passed away on Thursday, May 21, 1942.

Mr. Vaitonis is survived by his family, and three sisters, Veronica Shakenis of Chicago, Ill., Tekla Burtrimus and Ursula Vaitonis, both living in Lithuania, besides a host of relatives and friends.

Among those from away that attended the services were Mrs. Anton Shakenis, a sister, and Miss Helen Shakenis, niece, of Chicago, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. John Gralis, Mr. and Mrs. Don Gilbertson, and Gilbert Gilbertson of Black River Falls.