Obit: Artus, John James (1952 - 2018)

Transcriber: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Artus, Aschbrenner, DeBroux, Gurlea, Hammerstrom, Johnson, Kaiser, King, Rauen, Schmidlkofer, Seeger, Voigt, Zastrow

----Source: The Record - Review (Abbotsford, WI) 11/19/2018

Artus, John James (23 NOV 1952 - 14 NOV 2018)

John James Artus, 65, Marathon, went to be with our Lord on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, surrounded by his loving family at Mayo St. Mary’s, Rochester, Minn.

He was born Nov. 23, 1952, son of the late John L. and Leila (Voigt) Artus, and grew up on the family farm in the Town of Stettin. He was a graduate of Marathon High School and earned an associate’s degree in management from Northcentral Technical College. On July 10, 1982, he married Diane (Rauen) Artus at St. Mary’s Church in Marathon, being grateful for 36 wonderful years together.

John was a loving and devoted husband, father, brother, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, father-in-law and friend. He loved his grandchildren with all his being and his favorite thing was to pick them up after school and daycare and take them for ice cream at McDonald’s. John liked to be in the kitchen baking and cooking for family gatherings and work parties. Family was so very important to him. He loved get togethers, enjoying good food and great conversation and in his preparation no detail was missed. John loved the water and spending time at Lake Somo in Tomahawk. He enjoyed hosting numerous foreign exchange students from Germany and Spain. He still maintained contact with each of them and recently enjoyed an amazing trip to Germany.

John was a dedicated lifelong member of the Rib Falls United Methodist Church and loved to sing in his small country church. He also sang with the St. Mary’s Worship Hymn and Cantata groups. John loved music! He was extremely dedicated and proud to work at Marathon Cheese Corporation for 47 years. He loved to talk “Marathon Cheese” with anyone he met. He took great pride in his “second” job within the Marathon School District as a custodian for many years. His strong faith in God led him to be the kind, caring, and compassionate, loving man that he was. John was the “calm in the storm” for many people with always a patient and listening ear and encouraging words to express, “It would be ok.”

Survivors include his loving wife of 36 years, Diane; four children, James (Wendy) Rauen, Ashley (Jay) Hammerstrom, Chelsey Artus and Lesley Artus, all of Marathon; grandchildren, Angelica and Joseph Rauen, Brexton King, Ty and Aly Hammerstrom, Jordin (Morgan) Aschbrenner and Jaye Zastrow, all of Marathon; one great-grandchild, Levi Aschbrenner; siblings, Janis Artus, Jayne (James) Seeger, Jerry (Sally) Artus, Judy (Randy) DeBroux and Jeff (Cindy) Artus; mother-in-law, Barbara Rauen; brother- and sisters-in-law; Donna (Mike) Kaiser, Duane (Barb) Rauen and Doreen (Mark) Johnson; niece and nephews, Jodi (Ryan) DeBroux, Justin (Traci) Seeger, Cody Raymond, Jeff, Jordan and Emily Artus; as well as many other loved nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John L. and Leila Artus; one infant son, John Matthew Artus; father-in-law, Joseph Rauen; and brother-in-law, Robert Schmidlkofer.

Visitation was on Tuesday evening, Nov. 20, 2018, from 4 until 8 p.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church in Marathon. A funeral service was held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018, at Rib Falls United Methodist Church, 154 E. 19th Street, Marathon (Town of Rib Falls). Rev. Tim Gurlea presided. Burial was in St. Mary Cemetery, Marathon. Visitation on Wednesday was from 9 a.m. until the time of service at the Rib Falls United Methodist Church.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at Mayo St. Mary’s Mary Brigh critical care unit 4D and 5G for the wonderful care and support extended to John and his family over the last 3 weeks.

Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, Marathon, is in charge of arrangements.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com.