Obit: Jantsch, William P. (1895-1991)

Contact: Linda Mertens
Email: mertens@wiclarkcountyhhistory.org

Surnames: Jantsch, Mueller, Schaefer, Werner, Gramling, Barranco,

----Source – Private Collection

William P. Jantsch (30 Sep 1895 - 4 Mar 1991)

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Louis Catholic Church in Dorchester for William P. Jantsch, 95-year–old Dorchester resident and retired rural mail carrier, who died Monday morning at his home.

Rev. James Schaefer will officiate and burial will take place in Dorchester Memorial Cemetery where graveside military rites will be conducted by the Dorchester American Legion Post. Grandsons and nephews will serve as pallbearers.

The body will repose after 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, at Maurina Funeral Home in Dorchester where a Rosary Altar Society rosary is scheduled at 4 p.m., a prayer service at 7:30 p.m. and a Catholic Order of Foresters rosary at 8:30 p.m.

Mr. Jantsch, son of the late John and Anna Marie (Mueller) Jantsch, was born September 30, 1895, in the Town of Holton, Marathon County, and attended the Bruckerville School and Colby High School.

He was employed in Minneapolis for two years prior to joining the US Army in 1917, serving in France during World War I. After his discharge, Mr. Jantsch began employment with the Dorchester Post Office, serving 44 years as a rural mail carrier from 1920 until December of 1964.

His marriage to Loretta Werner, who survives, took place June 15, 1932, at St. Louis Catholic Church. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1982.

Mr. Jantsch was a member of St. Louis Catholic Church, serving as a trustee for over 60 years. He had been a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters since 1921.

A World War I veteran, he was a member of the Leach-Paulson American Legion Post No. 517 at Dorchester for 62 years and had been a member of the Abbotsford National Guard from 1928 until 1936. He was also a member of the Dorchester Volunteer Fire Department for over 38 years and a trustee for the Dorchester Village Board for six years.

Active in community affairs, he had served as treasurer of the Dorchester Park Corporation for 17 years and as secretary of the Dorchester Day’s Committee for 25 years. He was a member of the Dorchester Senior Citizens Club and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees and served as secretary of the Bowling League in Dorchester for 16 years.

He had been a volunteer for the Telecare Program at the Colonial House Living Center in Colby for 10 years, a volunteer teacher at St. Louis School for several years and a volunteer driver for the Clark County Social Services.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by three daughters: Sister Barbarina Jantsch, Milwaukee; Judy, Mrs. Henry Gramling, Waukesha; and Mary, Mrs. Louie Barranco, San Lorenzo, Calif.; three sons: William Jr., Dubuque, Iowa; James, Dorchester; and Daniel, Phoenix, Ariz.; 11 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

He was preceded in death by five sisters, Mary, Anna, Emma, Rose and Hattie, and four brothers, Frank, Henry, John and Joe.