Obit: Ogle, Glen Ray (1936 - 2014)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Balsis, Clements, Day, Drier, Faude, Immormino, Jaeger, Kohn, Krug, Ogle, Rosa, Schilling, Skabroud, Smith, Sromek, Sromek-Fierke, Wehe, Zach, Zuleger

----Source: The Star News (Medford, WI) 11/27/2014

Ogle, Glen Ray (8 MAY 1936 - 21 NOV 2014)

Glen Ray Ogle, age 78, of Perkinstown, passed away on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 in Marshfield.

Services will be held at Hemer Funeral Home. Visitation will be on Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m., and Wednesday from 10 to 11 a.m. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 26, with Pastor David Clements officiating. Lunch will follow. Cremation interment services will be held at Perkinstown Community Cemetery at a later date.

Glen was born on May 8, 1936 to Harry and Dorothy Ogle in Perkinstown, where he lived his entire life. Glen attended the one-room Lincoln School in Perkinstown. He graduated from Hannibal High School. On April 3, 1954, he married Lois Smith of Jump River, who survives. They made their home in Perkinstown where they raised their five children.

Glen is preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Arnold and Gerald Ogle, and a son, Randy.

Glen is lovingly survived by his wife, Lois, of 60 years; his children, Jacqueline (William) Rosa, Holly (Ron) Sromek, Chuck (Sally) Ogle, and Tammy (John Wehe) Ogle. He is also survived by his 10 grandchildren, Tonia (Dave) Sromek-Fierke, Travis Sromek, Rebecca (Eric) Zuleger, Billie (Brian) Schilling, Aaron (Erin) Day, Emily (Aemus) Balsis, Dillon (Kendall) Immormino, Jesse Ogle, Roxanne Ogle, and Mitch (Dana) Jaeger; and 10 great-grandchildren. In addition, he is survived by his five sisters, Iris Faude, Otillia (Lewis) Kohn, Marlene (Norman) Skabroud, Elva (Bob) Drier, and Susan (Jerry) Krug; and two sisters-in-law, Louise Ogle and Elloise Zach.

Out of high school, Glen worked in the automotive industry for Fischer Body in Lansing, Mich., for a season. He returned to the area and spent two years at Hurds. In 1956, he began working for the DNR, watching for fires in the Jump River fire tower. Then he started building them. This was the beginning of his lifelong tower career. In the early 1970s, he founded OK Tower Service and became known for his relentless work ethic. OK Tower built everything from DNR lookout towers to one of the tallest towers in the world, a 2,000 foot tower in Alvin, Texas. His work and reputation took him all over the world, including the Aleutian Islands, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Somoa where he spent a month dismantling a tower with a crew of six Samoans. He finally retired after he climbed his last tower in 2012 at the age of 76, at which time his daughter, Tammy, took over OK Tower Service.

Glen was also known for his passion for the outdoors and unforgettable guide services. For years, he kept a pack of hounds for coyote, bobcat and bear hunting. He also guided hunters who sought pheasants, ducks, geese and just about anything you could hunt. Glen also loved to take his grandkids on many fishing and hunting adventures. Not to mention, he and Lois raised trophy white-tailed deer for many years.

Glen and Lois kept a boat, the Circus Circus, in Valdez, Alaska, for the past 14 years. They entertained hundreds of family and friends in the pursuit of halibut and salmon. A notable momemt in Glen's life was performing the marriage ceremony of his granddaughter, Tonia, on his boat in Valdez.

He had an instinctive understanding of nature and loved the outdoors. His memory will live on in his apple orchards where he loved to plant and graft trees. Glen will forever be known for his ability to tell a joke anywhere, anytime.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the family to be designated at a later date.