The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

Norbert “Nibs” F. Sturzl

Norbert “Nibs” F. Sturzl, age 74, of Laona, died on Nov. 23, 2008. Nibs, the seventh son of the late John and Anna (Krause) Sturzl, was born on June 11, 1934 in Rockford, Ill.

He served honorably in the US Air Force. After his honorable discharge, Nibs settled in Milwaukee where he worked as a mechanic for Wisconsin Gas Co. After he retired, he moved to Laona about eight years ago where he lived with his nephew Fran (Penny) Sturzl.

He was a member of the Wisconsin Gas Co Quarter Century Club. He dearly loved his nieces and nephews and was loved by them. He also enjoyed nature, feeding the birds, wild turkeys and deer. He will be sadly missed by his family and his many friends both in the Laona area and in Milwaukee.

He is survived by two brothers, Jim (Donna) Sturzl of Newald and Richard Sturzl of Green Bay; sisters-in-law, Nancy Sturzl of Ironwood, Mich. and Yvonne Sturzl of Rhinelander; Godchild, Christina (Mike) Pfeiffer of Hartford; eighteen nieces and nephews and numerous great-nieces and nephews.

The visitation will be on Saturday, Nov. 29 at St. Leonard Catholic Church in Laona from 9 a.m. until the funeral mass at 11 a.m. with Fr. John Cerkas officiating. Burial will be in the Laona Cemetery. Weber-Hill Funeral Home of Crandon is assisting the family with arrangements.

Frances Alice “Fran” Pfeiffer

Frances Alice “Fran” Pfeiffer, age 75, of Hiles, formerly of Waukegan, Ill., passed away at St. Claire’s Hospital in Weston on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008. She was born April 27, 1933 in Waukegan, the daughter of the late Frank and Frances (Pustovrh) Urh.

On July 28, 1956 in Waukegan she married Dick Pfeiffer.

Fran was the president of the Hiles Service Club and a member of the Red Hatters. She volunteered for the Hiles Museum and enjoyed shooting pool on Tuesday afternoons with the Hiles Pool League.

She is survived by her husband, Dick of Hiles; daughters, Joni (Tom) Gruber of Antioch, Ill., Nancy (Ray) Boldt of Gurnee, Ill. and Ellie (Joe) Mack of Rochester; son, Dave (Michelle) Pfeiffer of Salem; brother, John (Loretta) Urh of Waukegan, Ill.; brothers and sisters-in-law, Jerry (Pat) Pfeiffer of Hiles, Marilyn Pfeiffer of Hiles, Dora (Monte) James of Hiles and Jan Church of Milwaukee; and grandchildren, Lindsey, Kevin, Jesse, Moriah, Ben, Sam, Jacob and Trent.

In addition to her parents, she is also preceded in death by one sister and five brothers.

Visitation was on Tuesday, Nov. 25 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Weber-Hill Funeral Home in Crandon, (715) 478-2322, and again on Friday, Nov. 28 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Salata Funeral Home in Gurnee, Ill. Funeral mass will be on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Dismas Catholic Church in Waukegan, Ill. Interment will be at Ascension Cemetery in Libertyville, Ill.

In lieu of flowers, memorials appreciated to the Hiles Service Club c/o Co-Vantage Credit Union P.O. Box 365, Crandon, WI 54520.

Germaine Adell Murray

Germaine Adell Murray, age 68, of Laona, passed away Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 at the AGI Health Care Center, Crandon. Germaine was born in Laona on Nov. 4, 1940, the daughter of Donald and Gladys (Wood) Gilligan.

Germaine lived and worked her entire life in Laona. She attended Laona High School and graduated in 1958. She worked for many years at Connor’s, Yaeger’s Bait & Sport and Potawatomi Northern Lights Casino. On Oct. 31, 1959 at St. Leonard Catholic Church, she married Alfred (John) Murray.

She enjoyed crocheting, collecting four leaf clovers, nightly rides around town, fishing with her brothers in their secret fishing holes and snowmobiling. She also enjoyed watching with her husband, John, Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown and other judge shows they could find. Her granddaughter, McKenna, was her pride and joy she especially enjoyed watching her grow. She will be remembered for her sharp wit and special times and games with family, especially around the holidays and her kitchen table talks with her brothers and sisters-in-law. She will be sadly missed by her family.

She is survived by her husband, John of Laona; sons, Steven (Scott Mishler) Murray of Deerbrook, Daniel (Grace) Murray of Niagara and Allan (Brenda) Murray of Laona; special granddaughter, McKenna; step-grandchildren, David, Angela and Jeremie; step-great-grandchildren, Courtney and Shayleen; sisters, Virginia “Ginny” Hurning of Lena, Ruth (Delmar) Behnke of Lena and Laurie (Richard) Comins of Lena; brothers, Thomas (Kathy) Gilligan of Porterfield and Daniel (Sharon) Gilligan of Lena; and sisters-in-law, Frances (Jim) Gilligan of Laona and Marie Gilligan of Laona. She is further survived by many nieces and nephews from Alaska through Wisconsin and south.

In addition to her parents, Gladys (Gilligan) Ducaine and Donald Gilligan, she is also preceded in death by her brothers, Donald, Richard and Kelly Gilligan; sisters, Leola Jensen and Carol Merryman; and special nephew, Richard Gilligan.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 26 from 10 a.m. until noon at the Weber-Hill Funeral Home in Crandon. Funeral services will follow at noon with Father John Cerkas officiating. Interment will be at the Laona Cemetery.

The family would like to express special appreciation to all of the staff at AGI Health Care, Forest County Department on Aging and Forest County Dept. of Social Services for their caring attention to Geramaine. Without you, Germaine’s life would not have been nearly as special as it was.

Edwin F. Howen

Edwin F. Howen, age 79, of Twin Lakes, formerly of Goodman, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 at St. Catherine’s Medical Campus West in Pleasant Prairie. He was born March 17, 1929 in Wabeno, the son of the lake Edwin D. and Clara (Schroder) Howen.

He had lived in Goodman, moving to the Kenosha County area in 1966. He worked as a transmission assembler for the former International Harvester until his retirement in 1989 and was a member of the UAW Local 1643 of Libertyville, Ill. Edwin enjoyed music playing his fiddle, guitar and accordion with his own country band. He was also a fisherman and hunter.

Survivors include his sons, Daniel (Kathy) of Goodman and Larry (Patricia) of Salem; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; and his siblings, Jim, Richard, Alan, Donny, Audrey, George, Tommy and Lloyd.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lois on Aug. 25, 1990; his second wife, Elsie on Sept. 19, 2002; his son, John E.; and siblings, Dale, Roland, Art, Benny, Gertrude and Edwina.

Visitation will be held from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008 at the Strang Funeral Home at 1055 Main St (Rte 83), Antioch, Ill. Funeral services will be Monday, Dec. 1 at 11 a.m. with visitation beginning at 10 a.m. at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church at 19800 80th St. in Bristol and on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. with visitation beginning at 9 a.m. at the Union Protestant Church in Goodman. Interment will follow at Glenwood Cemetery in Goodman. Sign the guest book at www.strangfh.com.

Areva Mae Forshee

Areva Mae Forshee, age 77, of Blackwell, died Nov. 21, 2008 at the NuRoc Community Health Center. Areva was born in Flint, Mich. on Jan. 14, 1931 to the late Charles and Grace (Mooreman) Foote. She married William “Bill” Forshee in 1963. The couple moved to Blackwell where they both worked for the Job Corps. Bill passed away in 1991, but Areva continue to work at the Job Corps until 1994 when she reluctantly retired because she enjoyed working so much with the youth.

She also enjoyed taking care of her home, crocheting and knitting, but she will be best remembered for her love of socializing with her many friends.

She is survived by one daughter, Linda Taylor of Blackwell; three sons, William (Cheryl) Nash of Little Chute, Charles (Debbie) Nash of Owosso, Mich. and William (June) Forshee of Goodman; one sister, Arlene (Russ) Hardy of Beaverton, Mich.; twelve grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers, Ernest, Joseph and Charlie Foote, Jr.

The visitation was on Tuesday, Nov. 25 from 1 p.m. until the time of the funeral service at 2 p.m. at the Suminski Funeral Home of Wabeno (715-473-3131). Conducting the service is her grandson, Anthony Nash. Interment is in the Forest Hill Cemetery of Wabeno. Online condolences to suminskifuneral.com.

John A. Volk

John A. Volk, age 93, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008 at Nu-Roc Community Healthcare in Blackwell. He was a long-time resident of the Town of Freedom in Forest County.

John was born to John and Alma Volk on the family farm in the Town of Freedom on Sept. 28, 1915. He was raised there with his sister, Helen, who preceded him in death. He attended school in Wabeno and graduated from Wabeno High School in 1932. He worked on his dad’s potato farm and drove a truck, delivering potatoes around the state. During the early Depression years, John and a friend traveled to Detroit to find work. He returned to Wabeno after his dad’s untimely death to work the family farm.

It was during the time that John was farming that he met Alice Sickler, a local teacher, through a friend who introduced them at the Freedom Cheese Factory. They were married in 1940. Their son John, Jr., (Butch) was born shortly after, and they packed him in a car and traveled to California, where John worked in an aircraft plant and shipyards during the war. Their second son, Gene, was born in California. They returned to Wisconsin in 1943, where they ran the family dairy farm until John retired in the early 80s. In addition to John, Jr., (Nancy) and Gene, they welcomed two more sons and two daughters to the family: Jim (Julie), Jan (Nancy), Faye (Jim) Tuszka and Donna (Don Tucker).

John was not only a highly respected, hardworking and successful dairy farmer, but he also served on the Freedom Town Board and Forest County Board in the late 40s and on the Wabeno School Board from 1952-1975. John’s outside passion was flying. He owned a small airplane, which he housed at the Crandon airport. Many a Sunday afternoon, John would get away from the farm to pursue his flying passion. He also became an instructor, and there are many men in the area who were taught to fly by John Volk. John was a member of the International Aerobatics Club and the Experimental Aircraft Association. He enjoyed many trips to the Oshkosh EAA with family and friends and often went to watch his son-in-law in aerobatic competitions in Fond-du-lac and throughout the region. He served as an aerobatic judge for many of these competitions.

One of John’s dreams was to serve in public office. He had that opportunity after he retired from farming. On somewhat of a whim, he decided to pursue a seat on the Wisconsin State Assembly in a special election in June of 1983. Much to his surprise, he won! He served the 36th Assembly District faithfully and with great integrity for seven years.

During their later years, John and Alice enjoyed getting in the car, often with their son Gene, and traveling around the country — especially the southwest and west.

John is survived by his wife, Alice; five of his six children (son Gene preceded him in death); nine grandchildren, Robert (Tabitha) Volk, Jeff Volk and special friend Kathy, Lisa (Jim) Coffey Lori (Lee) Mattern, Chris (Michelle) Volk, Shawn (Deb) Volk, Luke Tuszka and Adam and Ben Tucker; eleven great-grandchildren, Matt and Jack Volk, Andy (Tara) Coffey, Julia Coffey, and Hannah Coffey, Christie and Morgan Mattern, Myla and Yukon Volk, and Max and Mitchell Volk; and three great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be on Friday, Nov. 28, 2008 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Suminski Funeral Home, (715-473-3131) Wabeno. The visitation will continue on Saturday, Nov. 29 at the funeral home from 9 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Wabeno at 11 a.m. with Father David Schmidt officiating.

Interment is in St. Ambrose Catholic Cemetery. Honoring John as pallbearers will be his grandsons, Rob, Jeff, Chris, Shawn, Luke and Adam.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at Nu-Roc Community Healthcare for their kind and compassionate care of John during his residency at their facility. Send online condolences to suminskifuneral.com.

Helen Josephine Olszak

Helen Josephine Olszak, age 82, of Crandon, formerly of Ironwood, Mich., passed away at the AGI Health Care Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. Helen was born in Ironwood on March 19, 1926, the daughter of the late John and Agatha (Skrenta) Olszak.

Through life Helen worked as a legal secretary and bookkeeper in the Ironwood area. She was the manager for Johnson Music Store; she also worked at the Gift House shop and St. Vincent DePaul. In her younger years, she was an avid skier and bowler, but more recently she had a passion for playing cards. Helen was a member of the Catholic Church.

She is survived by her nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents; four sisters, Marie Gerndt, Stacia Brue, Kathryn Doll and Veronica Drouin; and four brothers, John, Ed, George and Joseph Olszak.

Visitation was on Monday, Nov. 24 from 10:30 to 11 a.m. at St. Leonard Catholic Church in Laona. Funeral mass followed at 11 a.m. with Father John Cerkas officiating. Inurnment was at Riverside Cemetery in Ironwood. Weber-Hill Funeral Home in Crandon, (715) 478-2322, is assisting the family.

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