chepp 1931-2021 and friend to many. The simplest pleasures in life brought great joy to Jamie. She loved to watch the birds, deer, turkey, and other wildlife that would visit the backyard of the Merrill homestead. For decades, she cultivated a large vegetable garden and fruits of her labor would help feed her growing family through the winter months. Later in life she enjoyed reading Country Life magazines, listening to local church radio broadcasts, and playing cards with her grandchildren when they stopped in for a visit. Jamie diligently cared for her beloved cat Mittens, reminding all visitors to “keep the door closed so the cat doesn’t get out!” Throughout her life, Jamie worked extremely hard to support her family and made many sacrifices to ensure that her children had everything that they needed in life to succeed. Jamie’s survivors include her husband, Fred; son, David and Treena Schepp, De Pere; daughter, Kristin (Schepp) Weisenfeld, Merrill; grandchildren, Ryan Weisenfeld, Portland, Ore.; Rebecca (Weisenfeld) and Austin Willis, Merrill; Emma Schepp and Trista Schepp, De Pere; great-grandson, Bennett Willis, Merrill. Jamie was preceded in death by her parents; and a brother, Marlin. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the caregivers at Renaissance Assisted Living for their kindness and wonderful care of Jamie the past three years. Jamie Lois (Birkholz) Schepp, 89, left this world unexpectedly on March 1, 2021. A celebration of Jamie’s life is being planned for April, 2021 and will be held in Merrill. Interment will be at the Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery, Town of Corning. Jamie was born to Otto and Loraine Birkholz on April 15th, 1931 in Goodrich, WI. She graduated from Medford High School and went on to obtain her teaching degree from the Taylor County Normal School. Later, she also earned a BS degree from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Jamie held teaching jobs in the cities of Medford, Marathon, and Hartford working primarily with kindergarten and first grade students. Jamie married Frederick A. Schepp on Aug. 10, 1963 and together they raised two children, David and Kristin. During that time of her life, Jamie worked from home as a full-time mother and homemaker. In 1968 Jamie and Fred built a house west of Merrill and spent the next 50 years enjoying rural country living. In August of 2018, they moved to an assisted living apartment in De Pere, WI. She was a caring wife, mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother, Paid Obituary 101832

icha 1946-2021 Sharon Marie Cicha, age 74, of Glen Flora, passed away peacefully on the night of March 2, 2021, at The Homeplace of Stanley Memory Care Facility. A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Monday, Mar. 8, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Tony with Fr. Papi Reddy Yeruva and Deacon Craig Voldberg officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery. Viewing was Monday morning at the church from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Sharon was born July 20, 1946 to Alvin (Tony) and Angeline (Smith) Larson in Medford. She grew up on a farm in the Township of Holway in Taylor County where she attended Golden Willow, a one-room elementary schoolhouse. She graduated from Medford High School in 1964, then attended Taylor County Teachers College in Medford for two years. Sharon went on to teach 1st & 2nd grade in Deer Park, WI, Amery District for two years, then continued her career teaching combination grades of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the Hawkins-Ladysmith District for 37 more years. While there she traveled to Stevens Point on weekends and attended summer school to complete her Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Elementary Education in 1972. She retired from her beloved Hawkins School in 2005. She continued devoting her life to children through substitute teaching at Hawkins and Flambeau Schools. In addition Sharon loved teaching Vacation Bible School at the Glen Flora Lutheran Church. Sharon and James Cicha, her husband of 44 years, were married on Oct. 23, 1976, at Our Lady of Sorrows in Ladysmith. They built their home and life together with their three children outside of Glen Flora where they could enjoy the open air, nature, and be close to family. Sharon absolutely loved to dance polkas and waltzes, and even square danced in her youth. She played piano all her adult life, sang for numerous weddings and community/church choirs, taught Sunday School at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Holway Church and then Catechism at St. Anthony’s in Tony, was the song leader at St. Augustine in Ingram and then at St. Mary’s of Hawkins for many years. She loved to visit with her good friends and family. Every chance she got, Sharon was traveling to spend time with her grandchildren. The remainder of her spare time was spent reading her favorite Louis L’Amour Western Novels. After years of decline due to Alzheimer’s, she leaves behind a devoted husband, Jim Cicha; three children, Andy (Michelle) Cicha of Bloomer, Julianna (Kurt) Kuzulka of Howards Grove, and David (Keesha) Cicha of Ladysmith; along with four grandchildren, Koralyn, Kurt J, Kalvin, Kendrick Kuzulka. Sharon is also survived by her siblings, Karen Larson, Janet (Jim) Sova, Duane (Debbie) Larson, Lester (Tammy) Larson; brother-in-law, Jim Bach; many nieces; and nephews; and life-long friends. Sharon was preceded in death by her parents, Alvin and Angeline Larson; sister, Sandra Bach; and brother, Jerry Larson. The Nash-Jackan Funeral Home assisted the family with services. Paid Obituary 101823

1925-2021 Augusta M. Freiboth, 95, Medford died on Monday, Mar. 8, 2021. Funeral services for Augusta will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, Mar. 12 at Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church, Medford with Pastor Daniel Iwinski officiating. Visitation will be at the church from 9:30 a.m. until the time of services. Burial will take place at St. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery, Town of Greenwood. Due to COVID concerns, masks will be required at the church. Augusta was born on May 10, 1925 in the Township of Greenwood, the daughter of Fred C. and Margaret Jensen. She attended Buddy School, Town of Greenwood, 1942 graduate of Rib Lake High School, 1943 graduate of Taylor County Normal School and 1965 graduate of UW-Stevens Point. Her marriage took place on June 11, 1949 to Elmer P. Freiboth and he preceded her in death on May 26, 1961. After her education, she taught elementary school in Taylor County for 37 years retiring in 1989. After retirement, she spent 25+ years wintering in Mission, Texas where she made many good friends. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting and quilting. In her later years, she become an avid reader using her iPad. Augusta was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Medford. She was involved with Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society and taught Sunday School for many years. She was also involved in many Veteran organizations, Wisconsin VFW, Klossner-Dietzler VFW, Landau-Jensen American Legion (which was named for her two brothers killed in WW II). She was also active in educational organizations, NCTC Foundation Board, Taylor County Retired Teachers and served on many education councils. She enjoyed volunteering for Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, especially playing dominoes with the people at Country Gardens until one year before she moved there. Surviving are her daughters, Barbara (Marc) Thompson, Medford and Kathleen Carrier, Benbrook, Texas; grandchildren, Sarah (Jake) French, Jessa (Paul) Nelson, Aaron Carrier, Andrew (Lindsay) Carrier, Justin (Jill) Carrier; 11 great-grandchildren; sister, Florence Jagow, sisters-in-law, Lois Disterhoft, Myrtle Kubichek and Doris Luedtke. She was preceded in death by siblings, Mary Smock, Arnold Jensen, Arthur Jensen, Donald Jensen, Ralph Jensen, and Edith Niedermeyer. Special thanks to Country Gardens and Aspirus Care and Rehab for the care Mom received there. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church, the American Cancer Society, or a charity of your choice. Hemer Funeral Service of Medford and Rib Lake is serving the family. For online condolences, please visit hemerfuneralservice. com. Paid Obituary 101910

1948-2021 Our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Gary Robert Sackmann of Brookings, S.D. passed away on Monday, Feb. 15 at the age of 72 surrounded by his loving family after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. A visitation service was held on Saturday, Feb. 20 at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings, S.D. in Gary’s honor. farm. Grandpa Gary was dedicated to his vending career working well past retirement age up to the last year prior to his passing, but he was committed to his work and most importantly the people he met along the way. Gary will be remembered for the little things that brought him countless joys and happiness in his spare time. Dad enjoyed cutting and splitting wood and mowing the lawn. He also enjoyed the outdoor activities of fishing and hunting in the area. As a proud Veteran and Brookings American Legion Post 74 member, Gary dedicated his time working at the Legion with his comrades. With death, Gary is reunited with his parents, Rob and Lillian; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Gilbert and Elsie; and his daughter, Tanya who died at the age of seven. Gary’s wife, Susan, will continue her love for Gary until they meet again. Dad’s legacy will carry on through his three boys, twins, Daryl (Melany) and Michael (Jolyn); and youngest son, John (Sara). His greatest gifts were his six grandchildren, Brayden, Cayle, Hannah, Ronan, Nolan, and Raven who will continue to treasure the memories, stories, and values of Grandpa Gary throughout their lives. We all miss him. Gary’s full obituary is available at the Eidsness Funeral Home website www.eidsnessfuneralhome. com under Gary’s obituary. Gary was born in Medford to his parents, Robert Anton Sackmann and Lillian Joyce Sackmann on July 8, 1948. He was the oldest of six children (Glen, Nancy, Ray, Jess, and Peggy). He met the love of his life, Susan Rae Nelson from Bruce, while at college and they married on June 6th, 1970. This last year they celebrated 50 years of marriage together. Gary served two years in the United States Army upon completing college as a Sentry Dog Handler. Following his time in the Army, he worked at Jacques Seed Company in Prescott, WI before relocating the family to Brookings, S.D. in 1992. It wasn’t long after the move to Brookings that Gary found his true life’s calling, working in the vending business. The vending business soon turned into Dad’s modern day Paid Obituary 101573

1929-2021 Herbert C. Deuel, 91, of Sheldon passed away on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021 at Care and Reb of Ladysmith. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Burial will be in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Sheldon. Telephone of Milwaukee. After merging, he became their equipment manager and also made repairs for three other companies in Wisconsin. During those 10 years, he took a television correspondence course to repair televisions and sold and installed kitchen cabinets. He retired from the phone company in 1989. Herb was always seeking out new experiences, so during the late 1960s, he and Marty Huhn, another employee of Universal Telephone, headed to Arizona to modify an old switchboard. This heavy equipment had to be airlifted from Phoenix to Soupai, Ariz., a native American reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. He had many stories to tell about that experience. In his early years he was a volunteer firefighter, village board and Lions Club member. He was also a member of the York-Kolar Post 316 for 61 years. He lived for snowmobiling. Herb helped form the Sheldon Rough Riders Snowmobile Club where he donated many hours signing and maintaining their trails. He spent over 45 years riding, mainly in Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan. He and a friend made a 10 day 2,000 mile trip averaging 200 miles per day back when there were no cell phones to call for help if a breakdown occurred. Surviving are his wife, Alice of Sheldon; daughters, Bonnie (Walt) Lang of Sheldon and Karen Krizan of Chippewa Falls; grandchildren, Stephanie Koss, Amanda (Eric) DeSmith, Jason (fiancé Lauren) Lang, Chad (Caylyn) Krizan; great-grandchildren, Anna, Blake, Daxton, Ruby and baby girl in May. He was preceded in death by his parents; and sister, Patricia Knapp; and her husband, Virgil. The Nash–Jackan Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Herb was born Mar. 20, 1929 in Hannibal, the son of Curtis and Lucile (Dietzman) Deuel. He graduated from Gilman High School in 1947. He was employed by Presto for a short time before returning to Gilman to help his parents with their telephone exchanges in Gilman, Hannibal, Jump River and Sheldon. At that time each exchange had an operator working out of their homes to run the switchboards where calls were transferred from one party to another or to place long distance calls. He did this part time from their Gilman home. In 1948 he installed a dial switchboard in Gilman, which was the first small town in Wisconsin to have a dial system. In 1950 he attended a dial switchboard school in Ohio and returned to install dial switchboards in the four exchanges. On May 3, 1952 he married Alice Filipiak in Gilman. One month later he was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Germany for most of his two years. He remained in the Army Reserve for another six years. Upon return, he and Alice moved to Sheldon and purchased the telephone company there which they operated for 10 years before merging with Universal Paid Obituary 101821

1933-2021 Marcella B. Scheithauer, 87, Athens passed away Monday, Mar. 1, 2021 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital. Funeral services were held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 6, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Athens. The Rev. Mark Schwalenberg officiated. Burial will be at a later date in St. Paul Cemetery, Grafton. Visitation was held on Saturday from 1 p.m. until the time of services all at the church. In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church. Social distancing guidelines were observed as well as face masks required by everyone who attended. She was born April 5, 1933 in the town of Hamburg, daughter of the late Andrew and Sophia (Greiner) Westfall. On Sept. 15, 1951 she married Joseph Scheithauer in Rib Lake. He preceded her in death on June 17, 2018. Marcella worked at Rexnord as a supervisor until her retirement when she moved back up north. Some of her favorite pastimes included baking, cooking, feeding people, listening to country music and polkas, watching the Bachelor and raising and caring for her dogs. She also loved hunting and the stories that came with it, especially waiting to hear what they saw, what they missed or the details of tracking. Marcella always enjoyed decorating for the seasons and took great pride in her appearance, always looking her best when she went out. Above all things she cherished the times with her grandchildren and always looked forward to having them come up and visit. Survivors include her daughter, Pam (Dean) Mancl, Medford; three grandchildren, Tabetha (Joe) Schultz, Germantown, Chad (Jaclyn Johnson) Waukesa and Maranda Mancl, Grafton; nine great-grandchildren, Harrison Joe Mancl, Logan Robert Mancl, Camryn Olivia Mancl, Emerson Grace Mancl, Erica Faith Schultz, William Dean Schultz, David Joseph Schultz, Andrew Lonnie Schultz and Charles Leon Schultz; one brother, Donald (Marlene) Westfall, Athens; and many nieces; and nephews. Besides her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her son, Lonnie; her siblings, Marvin, Gordon, Harold, Rick and Kenneth; and her sisters, Clara Henning, LaVerna Kramm, Myrtle Ninmerguth, Lucinda Nehrbass and Iris Schreiner. Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, Athens was in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com Paid Obituary 101711

1948-2021 Robert Petersen (Pete, Bobby, Uncle Bobby), a self-proclaimed black sheep who always did the right thing by others, passed away at age 72, on Feb. 27, 2021. If he could have had his way, he would have been landing the biggest bass, wrangling cattle or riding his horses so he could go out with his cowboy hat and boots on, but the good Lord had other plans and he passed peacefully farmer and one of the hardest working men most people would have the good fortune to know. He loved driving through the countryside in the latest pickup truck with a trailer tailing behind it. Drinking from his thermos of coffee and looking for a conversation with a hard-working farmer who would talk about cattle or the weather. Bob later sold the plant but continued Hollywood Livestock trucking and enjoyed spending time with his surviving loving partner, Patricia Lardie, on the Wisconsin River in Poynette. He is survived by his daughters, Amy (Geoff) Hutchinson, Stoughton; Cyndi Petersen, Eau Claire; his son, Carlo Petersen, Wichita, Kan.; his granddaughter, Sanne; and grandson, Axlan. He enjoyed spending time with all of his family including his siblings, Kaye (Richard) Kaye, Danny (Lynette) Petersen, Carla (Michael) Collins; his sister- in-law, Becky Petersen; and his nieces and nephews Jessica, Michael (Tracy), Steven (Malissa), Jamie (Scott), Wendy, Clint (Kelli), Candice (Jacob) and Crystal (Nathan), Lisa (Brad), Mandy (Clint), Luke and his beloved grand-nieces and grand-nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother and father; as well as his brother, Jerry Petersen. Robert did not wish to have a formal funeral and his children are honoring his wishes. The family will be placing a commemorative brick at the Stoughton Veteran’s Memorial. Condolences and cards may be sent c/o Amy Hutchinson, 3230 Old Stone Road, Stoughton, WI 53589. There will be a small military ceremony and a Family & Friends Gathering will be planned for later this spring in Stoughton. at the Tomah VA Medical Center. Robert was born April 4, 1948 in Madison to Carlo and Bernice (Hoveland) Petersen. He attended elementary schools in Rhinelander and Medford and was a graduate of Medford High School in 1966. He was an Airborne Soldier in Vietnam War from 1968-1969 and proudly served in the 101st Airborne Division B Company 426th S& S where he received a Purple Heart after being wounded. Upon returning home, he worked for Kleist Trucking in Hayward. Soon after, he moved to Medford, and started a family. In 1973 he was the first Tombstone Pizza Salesman and was awarded top salesman every year until leaving. In 1986 he moved to Stoughton and started Hollywood Dressed Beef Corp in Cottage Grove. Bob loved spending time with his family, camping, fishing, hunting and chuckling over a cold beer at the end of the day. He was an avid horseman, hobby Paid Obituary 101815

1925-2021 Mabel M. Brehm, 95, of Medford, passed away at home on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, under the care of Hope Hospice, surrounded by family. Cremation rites have been accorded and a private family service will be held at a later date. Mabel would accompany her husband and other family members on several hunting trips out west; setting up camps, trout fishing, and just enjoying the beauty of October in the Colorado Rockies. Later in life, she would remark that those trips and other trips with family were really special times. (Yes mom, they were) She was a volunteer for many years with Commission on Aging Senior Meals at Stetsonville. Mabel is survived by her children, Lyle (Pauline) Brehm of Schofield, Bruce (Joan) Brehm of Medford, Rebecca (Charles) Gerschefske of Lincoln, Neb. and Daniel (Cathy) Brehm of Ramsey, Minn.; 11 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; and 10 greatgreat- grandchildren; and one daughter-in-law, Grace Brehm of Rib Lake. Mabel was preceded in death by her husband, George; son, David Brehm; one grandson; two brothers, Walter (Beatrice) Lekies and Roy (Mabel) Lekies; and one sister, Pearl (Vince) Sackmann. Hemer Funeral Service of Medford and Rib Lake has been entrusted with arrangements. Online condolences can be left at www.hemerfuneralservice. com. Mabel was born on Oct. 15, 1925 to Emil and Julia (Janko) Lekies in the township of Browning, Taylor County. She attended Cloverdale elementary school. She worked as a nanny in the Medford area until her marriage to George M. Brehm on May 17, 1944. Together they owned and operated a dairy farm in the town of Little Black until the late 1960’s, while raising five children. Her family brought her great enjoyment. She loved sewing and on a nice day, she could be found working in her flower garden. She also enjoyed traveling, camping, and fishing. Paid Obituary 101456_2