Donald M. Fabisch

Donald M. Fabisch, age 86, died Friday, June 12, 2020 at Hillside Manor in Beaver Dam. Donald will be buried at Highland Memory Gardens in the Town of Trenton, Dodge County, Wisconsin. The Beaver Dam American Legion Post #146 will provide military honors. Don is survived by his sons, Mark Fabisch of Appleton, Tom (Brenda) Fabisch of Beaver Dam, and Jerry (Kelli) Fabisch of Oshkosh; his daughters, Cheryl (Al) Mundt of Necedah and Linda (Mark) Brueske of Beaver Dam; grandchildren, Megan Fabisch, Mikhaila Weister, Adam Fabisch, Carly Fabisch, Loralei Guptill, Susan Brueske, Ryan Brueske, Hannah Fabisch, and Tate Fabisch. He was preceded in death by his parents and his infant son, Dean. The following are excerpts of his autobiography that Don recorded: I was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin in 1933. My dad was Max and my mom was Esther. He drove gas trucks for a living and she was a housekeeper. I was an only child. In 1936, we moved out to a farm at Rolling Prairie and in 1947 we moved to another farm east of Beaver Dam on Fabisch Road. They ran out of road names so they used family names for the new roads. We had 18 dairy cows. My mom raised chickens and ducks and gathered the eggs. I helped out with the chores that kids did. I’d haul potatoes in, haul apples in, I made all kinds of stuff on the farm. Someone gave me some tools and I did carpentry work. I was in 4-H from 1947 to 1959 and I was chairman of the Leaders Association. I was the leader for pigs, cattle, and woodworking in our local 4-H club. I graduated from Beaver Dam High School in 1951. It was a challenge but it was fun. I guess I like to meet people, that’s why I liked it. After I graduated, I worked for my uncle on a farm from 1951 to 1957. I also loved to dance. There wasn’t a dance hall in a 50 mile radius that I didn’t go to. Madison Watertown, Johnson Creek, Fox Lake, you name it. I liked the waltzes and the polkas. I went to a lot of mixers, the old guys knew how to mix it up. I entered the Army in 1957. I had my basic at Fort Leonard Wood and my Nike missile training at El Paso, Texas. I went to Germany and I was stationed there for 18 months. There were two missile batteries at Baumholder and two at Idar-Oberstein. My job was to take care of the tools and parts for the missiles. I came back from Germany on March 10. 1959 and was in the reserves for two years. I helped my dad on the farm when I got home and, when nothing was going on, I would go off and do carpentry work. I continued to dance. I met my first wife at a dance and we got married in 1960. Carol and I had five kids: Mark, Tom, Linda, Cheryl, and Jerry. All the kids were in 4-H. When my dad died, we moved out to the family farm. The Dodge County Fair Grounds were only a mile away. They came and asked me if I would put the commercial space for the fair together. I told them, “leave me alone and I’ll do a good job”. So off we went and I did that for 30 years. We had the farm from 1966 to 1986. It was one of the most perfect farms in Dodge County. When I walked away I said “Good bye. Done. Don’t look back.”. I also worked for the Dodge County Park System maintaining four parks. I worked for my neighbor for six years. He’s got a grain and some beef, to the tune of 2500 acres. I worked at a beef farm in Cambria with over 3,000 animals. I like to work – farm work, carpentry work, work on my house – I worked until I was 85. The family would like to thank the staff at Hillside Manor for the wonderful care they provided to their father.