Obit: Colby, Dennis Russell Sr. (1929 – 2015)

Contact: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Colby, Mayville, Zabel, Scheel, Krug, Peters, Kempke, Ladd, Delo, Beltz, Clark

----Source: Tribune/Record/Gleaner (Abbotsford, Wis.) 06 Jan 2016

Colby, Dennis Russell Sr. (16 MAY 1929 – 23 DEC 2015)

Dennis Russell Colby Sr., 86, Greenwood, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, at Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital Palliative Care Unit in Marshfield, with his family at his side. There will be no services.

Dennis was born on May 16, 1929, to Henry Dean and Lucy (nee Mayville) Colby. He married Naomi Scheel on April 12, 1956. Dennis was a kind and caring person and always willing to help out. He kept busy mowing lawns, taking care of the flowers and feeding the birds at the apartment complex where he lived. He also enjoyed spending time with his family and close friends Joyce, Gus, Elroy and Carolyn.

Dennis is survived by his children, Dennis (Charlotte) Colby Jr. Greenwood, Kimberly (Dorn) Clark, Greenwood, Constance (David) Zabel, Greenwood, Cynthia Krug, Greenwood, Dean Colby, Spencer, and Melissa (Mark) Krug, Greenwood; 18 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren (great-grandson number 19 is due to arrive in February 2016); and four sisters, Erma Peters, Neenah, Beverly Kempke, Pound, Virjean Ladd, Milwaukee, and Nancy Delo, Loyal.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Naomi, in 1995; his parents; three brothers; two sisters; and two grandchildren, Christina Clark and Kason Beltz.

You can shed tears that he is gone,
Or you can smile because he lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back,
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him
Or you can be full of the love that you shared,
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back,
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Online condolences may be shared at www.cremationsociety-wi.com.

Cremation Society of Wisconsin, Altoona is assisting the family with arrangements.