Obit: LaZotte, Glenn Joseph (1930 - 2017)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: LaZotte, Habrel, Haugen, Rein, Fredericks, Langfeldt, Gross Weber, Somoye, Neal, Wegner, Francis, Bryant

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 2/01/2017

LaZotte, Glenn Joseph (3 December 1930 - 23 January 2017)

Glenn Joseph LaZotte passed away Jan. 23, 2017, in his home in Stoughton. Glenn was born Dec. 3, 1930, in the home of his parents, Glenn Joseph LeZotte and Eva Amanda (Habrel) LeZotte in Merrillan. During his 86 years, Glenn loved his family and was dedicated to his work.

In 1948, after graduating from Neillsville High School and marrying Shirley Ann Haugen, Glenn started working at the Neillsville plant of the Nelson Muffler Corporation, which was headquartered in Stoughton and years later became the Nelson Division of Nelson Industries, Inc. Glenn stayed with the company for nearly 53 years, performing a variety of tasks, starting with unloading steel when the original Neillsville plant was expanded. Thereafter, Glenn worked as an assembler on the factory floor, as a salesperson traveling the country on behalf of the company, as the plant manager in Neillsville, and eventually, he simultaneously served as president of the Nelson Division and vice president, and board member of Nelson Industries while living in Stoughton. In January of 2001, three years after Nelson Industries was acquired by Cummins Inc. of Columbus, IN, Glenn retired at the age of 70.

Glenn deeply admired, respected and cared about the men and women who started, built, and continued to grow Nelson Industries during the half century he worked with them. In particular Glenn was always grateful for the confidence place in him by Edwin E. Bryant, one of the three founders of the Nelson Muffler Corporation in 1939. Likewise, Glenn was inspired and especially moved by the character, skill, and work ethic of those making the mufflers and filters in the Nelson Division’s manufacturing plants in Neillsville, Black River Falls, Mineral Point, Bloomer, Viroqua, Wautoma, and Arcadia, WI; Burk’s Falls, Ontario, Canada; Hinckley, England; and Mexico City, Mexico.

Glenn is survived by his wife of 69 years, Shirley Ann (Haugen) LaZotte, and their children, Bruce Arthur LaZotte and Bruce’s wife, Rhonda (Ein) LaZotte; Denise Ann LaZotte and her husband, Kirby Fredericks; and Paul Glenn LaZotte. Glenn is further survived by his and Shirley’s grandchildren, Kyle LaZotte, Kate (LaZotte) Langfeldt and her husband Charles Langfeldt, Eric Gross and Eric’s wife Lindsi Weber, and Heather (Gross) Somoye and her husband Christopher Somoye; and their son Aiden Somoye and Heather’s son, Dante Neal.

Glenn was preceded in death by his parents, Glenn, and Eva, and he always credited them for all that was good in him; his parents-in-law, Arthur Haugen and Helen (Wegner) Haugen; his sole sibling and incredibly kind older sister, Lorraine (LaZotte) Francis, and her husband Harold Francis; and his and Shirley’s eldest child, Linda Lou (LaZotte) Gross of Scottsdale, AZ, who passed away Nov. 24, 2016, after battling cancer.

Glenn’s family offers their heartfelt thanks to Glenn’s longtime physician Dr. Guirish Agni and to Glenn’s hospice care team leaders Tara and Ingrid of Agrace HospiceCare, as well as each and every person from Agrace who helped Glenn and his family during the past six months. Again, Thanks so very much for your skilled and unfailing kind and compassionate help.

Glenn’s family will hold a private memorial service. Memorials may be made to Agrace HospiceCare Inc.’s Care for All Endowment Campaign or to the Agrace Foundation or to any other charity of choice.

Please share your memories of Glenn at www.CressFuneralService.com.