Obit: Opelt, Norman A. (1915 - 2009)

Contact: Dolores Kenyon

Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Opelt, Faber, Grzanna, Clark, Giessen, Chandler, Van Natta

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) June 17, 1952

Opelt, Norman A. (6 December 1915 - 8 June 2009)

Norman A. Opelt, 93, of Madison passed away Monday, June 8, 2009, at Sunny Hill Nursing Home, Madison.

He was born Dec. 6, 1915, the son of Arthur Max and Laura (Faber) Opelt in Lynn.  Norm grew up on the family farm at Neillsville.  As a freshmen, Norm became a charter member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) at Neillsville High School.  While in high school, his dad bought him a beautiful horse, Tony, to ride to school.  They raced and won first place at the county fair.

In 1933 Norm graduated  from high school.  He attended the UW-Madison Agriculture Short Course and graduated in 1935.  He began working for Stoeber Farm Diary in Middleton, where he milked the cows, bottled and delivered the milk. In 1936 Norm started working for consumer Co-op Dairy.  He worked in  the dairy plant and was also the relief driver.  In 1942, the co-op was bought out by Bowman Farm Dairy.  He worked at Bowman for 33 years, performing every task at one time or another.  For 14 years he was a one-man egg department, collecting eggs from the farmers, candling and grading the eggs back at Bowman’s.  When the egg department closed, he went back into the dairy plant until he became the laboratory technician.

In 1975 Norm left Bowman and became the lab technician at Madison Dairy Produce, a butter making facility, retiring in 1982.

During his school years, Norm met the love of his life, Mary Ann Grzanna, at a community summer play.  They were united in marriage June 1, 1937.  Norm and Mary Ann each enjoyed many individual pursuits, but their greatest interest was the love and joy in raising their children and seeing the growth and accomplishments of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In 1947 Norm joined the Southside Men’s Club; he was a past president and served on the board for many years.  While working as a dairy laboratory technician and long into his retirement, he was a member of the Dairy Tech Association.

He enjoyed deer hunting, card playing, reading, bowling, gardening and listening to music.  Until two years ago, Norm mowed his own lawn and did most of the snow shoveling.

Norm is survived by his wife of 72 years, Mary Ann Opelt of Madison; two sons, James Norman (Susan) Opelt of West Bend and Ronald Lee (Janice) Opelt of Madison; five grandchildren, Deborah (Donald) Clark of Columbus, GA, Laura (Greg) Giessen of West Bend, Kurtis (Jennifer) Opelt of Germantown, Katrina (Fiancé John Chandler) Opelt of Madison and Melinda Opelt of Madison; four great-grandchildren, Samuel and Becca Giessen and James and Steve Clark; and a half-brother Floyd (Melecia) Opelt of Bella Vista, AR.

He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant granddaughter, Marcia Lee Opelt.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held at Our Lady Queen of peace Catholic Church in Madison Saturday, June 13, with Father Todd Van Natta officiating.  Burial was at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery.