Gary H. Oelke

Gary H Oelke, 79, of Beaver Dam, passed away peacefully on Monday, April 8, 2024 at Marshfield Medical Center in Beaver Dam surrounded by family.

Gary was born on April 17, 1944 in La Crosse, WI to Dale and Margaret (Ravenscroft) Oelke. He was raised in Onalaska, WI and graduated from Onalaska High School. He and his first wife had two children, Lori and Lynette.  On September 28, 1970 he was united in marriage with Rosemary Oelke.  They moved to Beaver Dam in 1970 and had two children, Dan and Jenny.

Gary was a hard worker throughout his life. He often worked an extra job and hours every week to provide for his family. He worked at MetalFab in Beaver Dam and had side-jobs working for Tommy Brzezinski at Tom’s Machine Shop and Harry Guenther at Harry’s Trucking where he spent time after a full workday helping people move. In 1983 he started at Kraft Foods in Beaver Dam where he worked until his deserving retirement in 2004.

Some of Gary’s favorite past times included golfing, hunting, and fishing. In the 1970’s he enjoyed a once in a lifetime fishing trip to Canada with friends. Once Dan was old enough, they started their own hunting and fishing excursions. Fond memories include renting a boat on Fox Lake to fish for an afternoon, a special trip to Wyoming for mule deer hunting and rainbow trout fishing, and years of hunting with their friend Dale Stone.  Every spring Gary looked forward to the start of golf season by kicking it off on his birthday with a foursome including his son and their good friends Art Schroeder and John Gorter.

Gary also loved to watch Wisconsin sports. He was an avid University of Wisconsin Badgers basketball and football, Milwaukee Brewers, and Green Bay Packers fan!  Gary enjoyed watching the games and talking about them, especially football with Jenny and Dan.  When there weren’t sports to watch he enjoyed playing card games and bingo with his friends at the nursing home.

He is survived by his wife Rosemary, brother Lloyd (Lois) Oelke of Tavares, Fl, his children Jenny (Blake) Janiszewski of Horicon, Dan (Chrissy) Oelke of Beaver Dam, and Lori (Zachary) Butcher of Chesapeake, Va; his grandchildren Daniel Janiszewski, Tyler Oelke, Brittney (Chris) Witter, Hillary Phalin, and Allison Underwood, as well as other family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his paternal and maternal grandparents, his parents Dale in 1986, and Margaret in 2008, and his daughter Lynette Johnson in 2008.

The family would like to thank the great people working in the Intensive Care Unit at Marshfield Medical Center for their wonderful care!  Thanks to the staff and his friends at the Beaver Dam Health Care Center – Bedrock Healthcare. And a heartfelt thanks to his special friends Art and Gail Schroeder, John Gorter, and Dale and Cheri Stone.

The family will hold a private celebration in honor of his life at a later date.