2

Obit: Northup, Donald E. (1941 - 2024)

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

Surnames: Northup, Mertz, Schade, Mallo, Smith, Pierce, Aegater, Thompson

----Source: Plombon-Funeral Service (Stanley, Chippewa Co., WI) 4/21/2024

Northup, Donald E. (25 January 1941 – Apr 2024) With Flag

Donald E Northup age 83 born January 25, 1941 has passed away peacefully in his sleep at home.

Donald was born in Knapp to Ralph Northup and Bernice (Mertz) Northup. Don was married to Donna (Schade) Northup on 1/27/62. Don graduated from Neillsville High School. He then entered the Army in 1959 and served for 3 years. Upon returning from the service Don met and married Donna.

Don worked as a machinist at American Motors for 6 years and at Wisconsin Motors for 22 years. He also worked for Hypro for a while. Upon retirement Don and Donna moved to Lublin. Don was an avid fisherman, going fishing in Canada, Florida, North Dakota and Lake Erie. Don also enjoyed hunting on his land.

Don is survived by his special companion of 14 years Wanda Mallo and his children Deb Northup, Dan (Lori) Northup, and Dennis (Kasey) Northup, his grandchildren are Cassandra (Ryan) Smith, Jon Northup, Joshua Northup, Michaela Northup, Katie (Jeremy) Pierce, Nick (Steph) Northup and Samantha (Jon) Aegater, his 8 great grandchildren, his 4 brothers Dale (Diane) Northup, Late Charles (Bernice) Northup, Robert (late Nancy) Northup and Jim (Kathy) Northup as well as many nieces and nephews. Don is preceded in death by his wife Donna, both parents and his brother Charles.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 26, 2024, at New Hope Presbyterian Church-Hannibal with Pastor Beverly Thompson officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Lunch will be served after the service. After the lunch, the family will proceed to the Neillsville City Cemetery for the burial of Don and Donna with full military rites for Don.

Plombon Funeral Service assisted the family with arrangements. The family would like to thank St Croix Hospice including Andrew, for all the care and compassion they showed our father during this time.

3

Obit: Zager, Sandra Ann (1968 - 2024)

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

Surnames: Zager, Laper, Peissig, Silvan

----Source: Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home (Abbotsford, Clark Co., WI) 4/21/2024

Zager, Sandra Ann (22 January 1968 – 17 April 2024)

Sandra Ann Zager, age 56, formerly of Owen, passed away on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

Sandy was born on January 22, 1968, the daughter of Duane and Janet (Laper) Zager in Owen. She graduated from Loyal High School. Sandy worked for the Clark County Health Care Center and Time Federal. She enjoyed playing games, especially Uno and Memory, coloring books, puzzles, watching Star Wars and food.

Sandy is survived by her sister, Susan M. Zager, of Mosinee: her niece, Erica K. (Terry) Peissig of Owen and two nephews: Anton and Alex Peissig; other relatives and friends.

Sandy is preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Heidi Silvan and a brother, Richard Zager.

A Funeral Service will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at the Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home in Abbotsford. Interment will follow at the Abbotsford Public Cemetery. Family and friends are welcome from 3:00 until time of service Tuesday at the funeral home.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sandra, please visit our floral store.

4

Obit: Turenne, Gregory Jerome “Stretch” (1964 - 2024)

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

Surnames: Turenne, Luzinski, Bauer, Haas, Traeger, Lehman, Abramczak, Anderson, Lindquist, Antony

----Source: Cuddie Funeral Home (Greenwood, Clark Co., WI) 4/21/2024

Turenne, Gregory Jerome “Stretch” (25 August 1964 – 18 April 2024)

Gregory J. "Stretch" Turenne, age 59, of Thorp, passed away on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at Aspirus Stanley Hospital in Stanley.

Gregory Jerome Turenne was born on August 25, 1964, in Chippewa Falls, to Fred J. and Brenda M. (Luzinski) Turenne. He was raised and received his education in Thorp, graduating from Thorp High School in 1983. Gregg then attended District One Technical Institute in Eau Claire, where he earned degrees in Refrigeration Servicing and Vocational Truck Driving.

He moved to Texas and worked for a company installing sewers and water lines. Gregg returned to Thorp and started his own business, Turenne Repair/Skid Steer Rental. He was united in marriage to Michelle M. Bauer on May 5, 1990, at St. Bernard-St. Hedwig Catholic Church in Thorp. In 1996, they started Turenne Livestock in Thorp, specializing in direct marketing of livestock. In 2002, they expanded their direct market business to Bloomer, and in July 2006 they expanded their business to a state-of-the-art sale barn known as Turenne Livestock Market-Thorp. After many successful years they sold their business in May 2022. After retiring from the livestock business, he enjoyed expanding/managing his many Real Estate adventures.

He enjoyed volunteering his time to many events and was a former consultant for Ag Loans at Northwestern Bank. Gregg had many interests, especially deer hunting, making the Pope & Young record book. He enjoyed building luxury tree stands for himself and family members, making new friends in his daily travels, attending Packer games, watching the Brewers, and LOVED scratch-off tickets.

He will be dearly missed by his wife, Michelle, of Thorp; three sons: Matthew (Kelli) of Cadott, Andrew (Brooke Haas) of Charleston, SC, and Alexander (Larissa) of Thorp; three grandchildren: RaeElla, Traeger and Alani Turenne; three siblings: Jeff (Karen) of Thorp, Jim (Lisa) of Merrill, Lisa (Doug) Lehman of Spencer; many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and friends. Gregg was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be held at 12 P.M. on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at St. Bernard-St. Hedwig Catholic Church in Thorp. Visitation will be held at the church on Saturday from 9 A.M. until the time of service. Rev. Stanislaus Michael Antony will officiate, and burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Withee, WI. Pallbearers will be Jeff Turenne, Jim Turenne, John Abramczak, Jamis Anderson, Doug Lehman, and Knute Lindquist.

Gregg truly had a love for introducing hunting to the younger generation, therefore, in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the “First Hunt Foundation, Taylor County Chapter” c/o Jenna Zenner, W7052 Perkinstown Avenue, Medford, WI 54451.

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Obit: Neitzel, Frances (1926 – 2024)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Neitzel, Bradley, Goeltz, Peickert

----Source: Tribune/Phonograph (Abbotsford, Clark Co., Wis.) 24 Apr 2024

Neitzel, Frances (15 Sep 1926 – 10 Apr 2024)

Frances Neitzel, age 97, died peacefully on April 10, 2024, at Marshfield Health Services, where she had resided since September. During her final days she was visited by family members and good friend, Diane Herron.
Frances with an “e” was how she introduced herself. She was born to Frank and Mae (Bradley) Goeltz at home in Colby, Wisconsin on September 15, 1926. Frances with an “e” graduated from Colby High School on May 9, 1944. She married the love of her life, Delbert (Bill) William Neitzel on May 24, 1944, at her parents’ house in Colby. As time passed, Frances with an “e’ became Fran or Frannie to family and friends.

Bill left for WWII on Jan. 24, 1945, until August 25, 1946. During that time, Fran and newborn Jacqueline lived with her parents. Fran worked at the Colby Drug Store. Her favorite job was making strawberry sodas, which she enjoyed consuming rather than making later in life. When Bill returned from service, they started and operated Bill’s Electric, in which Fran was the bookkeeper while raising her children and serving the community. Their family grew from three to seven with the addition of Carol Jean, Emery (Pete) William, Bill Frank, and Merrie Louise.

Fran was generous with her time and talent. She was a leader for the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Fran taught Sunday School and Bible study for the Colby Methodist Church. She was also a member of the Eastern Star. Fran was a hospice volunteer in the Winter / Phillips area after retirement. She was quick to volunteer whenever the need or opportunity arose. She made Afghans for all her children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

Pushed by the expanding business and family, they moved to Hwy. N outside Colby into homes they built. In 1974 Fran and Bill purchased Joe’s Appliance Store and Fran became Chief Sales Officer and her duties for the business grew. Fran enjoyed playing board games, cards, scrabble, and socializing with family and friends in her spare time. She was a good cook and always prepared your favorite dish or treat. You never left hungry or thirsty. She created many lasting friendships while in Colby. Bill and Fran successfully operated Bill’s Electric until retirement. They retired to the Northwoods in Winter, to a house they built in 1987. Fran was skeptical at first, however, she found her Colby friends loved visiting her and new winter friends liked socializing and playing cards as well. Her life was more relaxed, and she even had time to go fishing. She was able to do everything she enjoyed.

When Bill passed away in 2015, Fran moved to Marshfield where she found even more friends at Parkview, Craig and Merrie’s home and an assisted living facility. She was one of the ladies who walked through the Marshfield Clinic’s Pharmacy drive through.

Fran will be sadly missed by her children: Carol “Jeannie”, Pete (Mary), Bill (Jan) and Merrie (Craig); 12 grandchildren: Joy (Paul), Kim (Dave), Sean (Susan), Shane (Sara), Jen (Gary), Beth (Scott), Keith (Lindsey), Autumn (Tom), Brad (Fran), Chelsea, Matt (Maddison) and Mercedes (Dawson); 15 great-grandchildren; three great-great grandchildren, and a daughter-in-law, Carol Peickert.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill (the love of her life), her parents, her daughter, Jacqueline Peickert, Jackie’s husband Lowell, sibling Frank Goeltz, her sister and brothers-in-law and a great-granddaughter, Abagail Giza.

Frances’ Celebration of Life will be on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at Zion Community Church in Marshfield at 11 a.m. The family will welcome friends and visitors starting at 9:30 a.m. A fellowship and lunch will follow at the Marshfield Eagles Club.

The family wishes to thank the Marshfield Health Services and Heartland Hospice personnel for the care and compassion provided Frances while under their care.

6

BioM: Marriage Licenses (Apr/May - 2024)

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

Surnames: Zimmerman, Fosterling, Ogle, Lewallen, Martin, Weaver, Arcos, Logalbo, Bautista, Lopez, Taubenheim, Springer

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 4/17 & 24/2024

Marriage Licenses (Apr/May - 2024)

Mattthew H. Zimmerman, to Robin L. Fosterling, both of Town of Mead, April 20, at Town of Thorp.

Kyle B. Ogle, to Macayla A. Lewallen, both of Thorp, April 27, at the city of Stanley.

Carl Z. Martin, Town of Mayville, to Julianne Z. Weaver, Town of Colby, May 28, at Town of Colby.

Rausel De Jesus Cruz Arcos, to Kirsten A. Logalbo, both of Dorchester, April 24, at Abbotsford.

Cesar Lopez Bautista, to Alma Deli Bautista Lopez both of Marathon Co., April 28, at Dorchester.

Trevor N. Taubenheim, Town of Grant, to Elizabeth A. Springer, Neillsville, May 20, at Neillsville.

7

News: Clark Co. Send a Soldier Home Painting (2024)

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

Surnames: Roehl

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 4/24/2024

Send a Soldier Home: One Painting at a Time (2024)



Suzanne Roehl (right) and her granddaughter, Rose, attended the “Send a Soldier Home; One Painting at a Time” fundraiser, held April 19 at the American Legion Post 73 in Neillsville. “We love to paint,” said Roehl. “We’re constantly doing crafty things.” This was the fourth time Roehl has attended “Send a Soldier Home” and the first time for her granddaughter, Rose, and each painted American Flag wood barn quilts (below) at the fundraiser.

June Thompson/Clark County Press photos

8

News: Unity Bank Celebrates the Power of Community (2024)

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

Surnames: Jaap, Poels

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 4/24/2024

Unity Bank Celebrates the Power of Community (2024)

To celebrate the connections between local businesses, non-profit organizations, schools, families and their hometown community bank, Unity Bank is recognizing the Power of Community Week April 15–20 during National Community Banking Month and National Financial Literacy and Capability Month.

“We are proud to be a part of such strong, vibrant communities,” said Ceci Jaap, marketing strategy director. “During the Power of Community Week, we are taking the opportunity to show some extra love and appreciation to our beautiful towns that we live and work in across all of our markets in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Polson, MT.

“Join us to make a difference in each of our communities.”

Unity Bank serves its community year-round, and during the Power of Community Week in April, the bank invites all those who “love [their] communities” to join Unity Bank for a Community Clean-Up Night. Contact local branches for more detailed information.

The purpose of Power of Community Week is to highlight the longstanding tradition of local hometown community banking. Unity Bank encourage our consumers, small business owners, farmers and community leaders to learn more about the strong relationships between community bankers’ families, livelihoods, and the communities Unity Bank serve.

Unity bank says community banks play an important role in strengthening communities, offering quality products and personal services, partnering with local school districts, offering education around financial literacy, volunteering time in non-profit organizations, to provide support and resources to help customers and communities succeed.

“The Power of Community Week highlights the collective impact of Wisconsin’s banking industry,” said Rose Oswald Poels, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Bankers Association. “Bank employees tailor their efforts to the individual needs of their areas—from giving financial literacy presentations in local schools to running food drives to volunteering in nursing homes—it shows how passionate they are.”

9

News: Neillsville’s - Gross Ford Moves Locations (2024)

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

Surnames: Gross, Lawrence, Klein, Robida, Schmitz, Sydorowicz, Pierce, Kuchenbecker, Crothers, Riegert, Bulgrin, Durst, Kren, Sigurdson, Thur, Weinke, Berg, Pumper

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 4/24/2024

Neillsville’s Gross Ford Moves Locations (2024)

By Nancy Curtin

“Goodbyes are always hard,” said Gross Ford of Neillsville. “But we want to make sure that we aren’t saying goodbye to Spencer and the surrounding area anytime soon.”

Gross Ford began changing its location March 19. The Gross Ford Sales Department moved temporarily to 608 E. Division St., Neillsville and the Service Department moved to 124 W. Seventh St., Neillsville while Gross Ford awaits construction of its new facility located at 508 E. Division St., Neillsville. The new facility will be a dual facility that will house the Ford dealership as well as the existing Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership in Neillsville.

“This will be a much bigger and more modern facility for us to help take better care of our customers and their automotive needs,” Gross Ford said.

Although Gross Ford did not want to make this move, the company ended up facing the same thing that many small businesses today are facing where there were not the economies of scale with this small organization to be profitable. Also, with all of today’s requirements and demands from the manufacturers, Gross Ford were facing a lot of additional upcoming expense that would only make things more difficult to operate on a small scale.

“Finally, and probably most importantly, with the size and scope of the dealership we felt like we weren’t offering the quality of service and timeliness that we strive to achieve for our customers,” Gross Ford said.

“When we initially purchased the Ford location in Spencer in 2017,” general manager Mike Gross said, “we were presented with the option to move it to Neillsville at that time. We did initially plan on that. However, we decided that we wanted to give it a shot in Spencer and see if we could make that work. Basically, we wanted to operate that dealership in the community to keep it there and be a part of the community.

Both the Ford store and the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store that are merging together are facing some retirements along with a couple unforeseen hardship absences for some other employees. So, in order to help its employees and provide a good level of service and sales, Gross Ford opted to start operating together in Neillsville now as the company prepares for the new facility to open.

“We are happy to say that no employee is being left behind,” Gross Ford said. “We do have positions for everyone that is working at the Spencer location now.

“We have seen the writing on the wall and knew this was the right ‘business’ decision for a very long time. However, the emotions and strong desire to not leave the Spencer community is what has caused us to turn a blind eye to the 'business' side of things and keep trying to operate like we have over the years. We have formed a lot of friendships and had some great times in Spencer. We have had a lot of ups and downs over the past seven years.

“The fire was obviously a difficult period that we probably never fully recovered from. However, losing one of our beloved employees and well-known Spencer locals, Dale Mroz, last year was by far the hardest for everyone. But we had a lot of great times, too, with Spencerama days and all the great burgers from right across the street at Nutz Deep. We always tried to contribute and help the Spencer community whenever asked for a wide range of functions.”

“After operating in Spencer for many years,” Gross said, “we just didn't get the volume or number of customers from that area that we needed to become profitable. Basically, each month we were open, we put in a ton of work and effort, but still ended up with a loss on the financial statement.

Furthermore, the location and building made it difficult to staff the dealership the way we wanted, which made us feel as though we weren't providing the level of service that we like to provide to our customers.

“When we had the fire in the spring of 2022, we made the decision that things weren't working in Spencer with the level of service we like to provide to our customers, and we were suffering a financial loss. We had a lot of legal back and forth between Ford and Stellantis that prevented the move and we continued to try and make a go of things in Spencer. But the finances got worse, the number of customers declined from Spencer and that area, and we were faced with more staffing issues.

“We feel horrible about not operating in Spencer anymore. But we are looking forward to having a facility that offers Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram products. There aren't many places in Wisconsin where you can shop and service all of those brands on one campus. The new facility will be something that will provide our employees and our customers one of the nicest automotive facilities in Central Wisconsin.”

As a result, even though the Ford dealership will be physically moving, Gross Ford wants to make sure that the company remains committed to Spencer and the surrounding areas.

Since March 19, Gross Ford has offered free pick-up and delivery to its Neillsville service department for any Ford customers that live or work in Spencer, Loyal, Greenwood, Chili, and the surrounding area. The company does not want the people that have helped support it to be inconvenienced and plan on making coming in to service even easier now for those people. The service is planned for at least the next two years and may get extended even longer once Gross Ford know how it is working. But Gross Ford wants to make sure the company is helping make things easy and convenient even after the move. In order to schedule a free pick-up and delivery, people can call Gross Ford’s Spencer number at 715-659-3939. Gross Ford’s initial plans were to make Tuesday and Thursday pick-up and delivery days. However, if there is more demand, Gross Ford will add more days to the mix.

Gross Ford will continue to offer service at our Marshfield location, which is 9.5 miles away from the Ford location in Spencer.

“In fact,” Gross Ford said, “we just recently added more technicians and service staffing there to serve our customers’ needs. We do offer pick-up and delivery from this location, too.

“We do plan on staying heavily involved in the local [community] fundraising and donations that we have participated in over the years. We have a large number of local organizations that we are happy to support. Also, we have a Ford FFA scholarship program that we sponsor for a couple local schools and will continue to participate in that program as well. We are moving the physical location. But Spencer and the surrounding area will definitely continue to hold a special place in our heart. We absolutely plan to continue to give back to the Spencer area even after the move.

“We will continue to come up with additional ideas for meeting our customers’ needs.”

“We are hoping to break ground in spring,” Gross said. “We're unsure of the completion date at this time.”



The Gross Ford staff, (above, front), Tyler Lawrence, (center, l-r) Paul Klein, Cuyler Robida, Kevin Schmitz, Julie Klein, Mark Sydorowicz, Courtney Pierce, Karen Kuchenbecker, Rita Crothers, Jerry Gross, Mike Gross, Brandon Riegert, Jake Bulgrin; (below, front) Chuck Durst, Diane Kren, Erik Sigurdson, (back) Jeff Thur, Jerry Weinke, Nathan Berg, Bill Pumper and Al Durst have moved to a temporary location on 608 E. Division St., Neillsville to wait for a new facility to be built at 508 E. Division St., Neillsville.

Nancy Curtin/Clark County Press photos


 

10

Obit: Isenhart, Myrtle Marie (1930 - 2023)

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

Surnames: Isenhart, Koerner, Uhlig, McCormick, Wagner, Gibbs, Bentz, Rasmussen, Kortney, Smith, Treythardt, Haas, Bas, Vermett, Johnson, Brown, Waling, Wagner

----Source: Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home (Abbotsford, Clark Co., WI) 5/2/2024

Isenhart, Myrtle Marie (24 June 1930 – 30 December 2023)

Myrtle Marie Isenhart, 93, died peacefully on December 30, 2023, in Monroe.

Myrtle was born on June 24, 1930, in Colby, the daughter of George and Ella (Koerner) Uhlig. She attended various schools in Wisconsin. After the family moved to Illinois, Myrtle, graduated from Alden High School in 1948.

The same year, she married Vincent McCormick. They farmed outside of Harvard, Illinois and had 3 sons before Vincent passed away in 1968 after a long fight with leukemia. Myrtle then had the hard job of raising her boys without their father, and they lived with Vincent’s family for a while.

Years later, she married her second husband, Harry Isenhart, in 1988. Harry passed away in 1998.

Myrtle worked for many years at Wabash Tape Company in Huntley, IL, Hearthstone Manor in Woodstock, IL, and Golden Years in Walworth, WI. She was proud to have a job until she was 85 years old. She enjoyed baking and spending time with her friends and family. She was also a diehard Chicago Cubs fan.

Myrtle is survived by her sister, Paulette Wagner; three sons: Ed (Ellen), John (Shelly), and Joe (Lori) McCormick; 15 grandchildren: Christine Gibbs, Alan (Jennifer) McCormick, Jessica (Jorden Bentz) McCormick, Elizabeth McCormick, Bekah McCormick, Charles McCormick (Carrie), Angie (Nick) Rasmussen, Sean McCormick (Kortney), Kyle (Robia) Smith, Ashley (Jeremy) Treythardt, Blake (Natasha Haas) Bas, Meghan (Steven) Vermett, Matt (Jessica) McCormick, Mike (Steavy) McCormick, and Mac (Savannah) McCormick; and 39 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands, Vincent and Harry; sisters Delores Johnson, Carol Brown, and Evelyn Waling; brother Norbert Uhlig; brothers-in-law George Brown, Harold Johnson, Tom Waling and Dale Wagner; and sister-in-law, Shirley Uhlig.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at Pine Hill Cemetery in Curtiss, WI. A memorial service will be held on June 23, 2024, at the Alden Methodist Church in Alden, IL.

Friends may send online condolences to www.maurinaschilling.com.

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Obit: Struensee, Andrew Carl (2002 - 2024)

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

Surnames: Struensee, Carlson, Payne, Opelt, Berry, Hutchinson, Galetka, Holzl, Hagen, Nystrom,
McHone, Carl, Flagel, Kurth, Weier

----Source: Gesche Funeral Home (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 4/30/2024

Struensee, Andrew Carl (17 October 2002 – 27 April 2024)

Andrew took the greatest train ride of his life on April 27th, 2024. Destination Heaven.... straight into the arms of our Lord. Full speed ahead yelling "All Aboard" and sounding the whistle.

Andrew was born October 17th, 2002. During his life he faced many health challenges, but he was always brave and fearless. He developed a feisty, bubbly, loud, infectious, sometimes cranky but always loving personality. You could not help but love him if you met him. His absolute favorite things to tell everyone were "no thank you" and "goodbye". He loved to see everyone on his terms!

Andrew developed a love of trains very early in life and his entire life centered around them. He loved to go UTV riding with Tim, insisting on a very fast takeoff counting down "3-2-1 blast off!" "Here we go!" When arriving in Neillsville he had to honk the horn to let everyone know he arrived cruising thru like he was in a parade. One place he loved was the gravel pits outside town because he said it was the "Blue Mountain Quarry" a favorite from his Tomas the Tank books. In 2020 Andrews Make A Wish trip was in Keystone, South Dakota riding on a 1880 train. Such happy memories. And on many warm days each summer he loved swinging as high as possible outside laughing his little butt off!!!

Andrew loved his family deeply. He and his mama were inseparable, so incredibly devoted to each other. Even in his last days Andrew comforted his mama in her grief. Hugging and rubbing her head in love. On his last day with mama, she played his favorite songs, and he bopped his head along just like always. Reading his favorite book and watching Toy Story.

He loved his siblings Justin, Zachary, and Brookelyn. And sister-in-law Abby, he always had to get a hug from her! He could never have enough hugs from Brookelyn, and he loved to have her wait on him, often asking her to please get his ice water. He could be a little bossy. Everyone gave up their birthday cake candles to Andrew, letting him blow them out first. Leaving us with a little bit of a spit cake but that was alright.

Andrew also loved his nieces and nephews, Ella, Ava, Oakley, Zaylee, and Huxley. Although he didn't always show it. Squeezing in the occasional "I love you" and a hug. But he loved them the most when they were leaving. Andrew was a bit of a sheister meister with them.

Andrew attended Neillsville School all his life until graduating in 2021 and 2022. Yes twice. During his school years he was blessed with so much love from staff who became like family.

Andrew is survived by his parents, Bobbie & Tim Struensee; Sister, Brookelyn Struensee (at home) of Granton; brothers Justin (Abby) Opelt and their children Ella & Ava Opelt of Greenwood, Zachary (Kaylee Berry) and children Oakley, Zaylee, and Huxley Opelt, and Joel Hutchinson (mama-Kaylee) of Neillsville.

Grandmas, Mary Carlson & Erdine Payne. Aunties Tina Galetka, Linda Holzl, Kathy Hagen, Bonnie Carl, and Uncle Shane Nystrom, and all their children.

Andrew was preceded in death by Grandpa Kerry Carson, Great Grandma Noreen McHone, Uncle Clarence McHone, Grandma Florence Carl.

Andrew has been cared for by Compassus Hospice and Andrew's nurse Amy Flagel for the past 4 yrs. We will forever be family because of the love for Andrew that brought us together. As Andrew would say "Don't hit Amy!" He loved her dearly. We all do.

A service for Andrew will be held on May 4th. Visitation 9-11 a.m. and service to begin at 11 a.m. at Gesche Funeral home. Pastor Joe Weier will officiate. A celebration of his life will follow at the Neillsville Legion. Lunch will be provided. All are welcome to attend, share stories, and feel the love. Andrew’s favorite color is Blue. So, if you can, wear blue to honor him.

Gesche Funeral Home is assisting with cremation services. Justin & Zachary Opelt, Brookelyn Struensee, and Jason Kurth will be honorary urn carriers.

Any monetary donations made to the family will be used to establish a Scholarship Fund in his name for students continuing education in the field of Special Education Teaching.

Online Condolences may be made at www.geschefh.com. 

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Andrew Carl-Struensee, please visit our flower store.

12
Obit: Wilke, Arlyn I. (1947 - 2024)

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

Surnames: Wilke, Gilman

----Source: Life Tributes Funeral Home (Spencer, Clark Co., WI) 4/30/2024

Wilke, Arlyn I. (2 April 1947 – 25 April 2024)

Arlyn L. Wilke, 77, of Spencer, passed away on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at Aspirus Hospice House in Wausau due to health complications.

Per his wishes, there will be no services.

Arlyn was born on April 2, 1947, in Wisconsin; son of Virgil A. Wilke and Vera Gilman. He was employed at Wick Building in Marshfield.