William Herr
William “Bill” J. Herr, 81, Greenwood, passed away on Monday, April 3, 2023, at his home. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greenwood, with Rev. Emmanuel Famiyeh officiating. A private family burial will take place prior to the Mass. Visitation will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Monday, April 10, from 4-7 p.m., and on Tuesday, at the church, from 9 a.m. until the time of the service.
William Joseph Herr was born on May 20, 1941, in Marshfield, the first of two children born to Joseph A. and Josephine B. (Schmitz) Herr. Bill attended St. Mary’s Catholic School, in Greenwood, and graduated from Greenwood High School in 1959. Following high school, Bill worked on his family farm with his parents and hauled milk. He was united in marriage to Jane M. Weyer, on Oct. 4, 1969, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Loyal. Bill and Jane purchased the family farm north of Greenwood from Bill’s parents where they raised their five children. Bill was proud of their farm, family and community, which was evident by the support they provided to the 4-H club, St. Mary’s Church and School, and Marshfield Clinic. He enjoyed serving on the board of Dairy Farmers of America, becoming friends with many other fellow farmers across the country and collaborating on issues impacting the farming industry. Bill and Jane hosted several dairy breakfasts at their Hyland Dairy Farm. He enjoyed learning and valued education, completing college classes in adulthood and serving on the Greenwood School Board for many years.
Bill was passionate about his family, supporting his children and grandchildren’s academics and sports teams. He loved watching any sporting event for his children and grandchildren, and was such a proud father and grandfather. He served in the Army National Guard for over 25 years before retiring from the military. Faith was important to Bill; he devoted time to teaching CCD and was a minister of communion at St. Mary’s in Greenwood.
He had a passion for racing Ford vehicles from a very early age. He raced motorcycles in his twenties until gravitating to racing cars. Throughout the course of his life, he raced stock cars on many different dirt tracks with his crew and fans in attendance, and enjoyed attending or watching any type of race. Bill was known as the “Flying Farmer” on the racetrack, a designation he proudly displayed on his #21 dirt race car. He was extremely talented at building race car engines and enjoyed seeing his car raced at Marshfield Speedway. Many family vacations centered around a NASCAR or dirt track race.
Bill is survived by his children: Karrie (Guy) Willis of West Palm Beach, Fla., Teri (Ron) Wilczek of Marshfield, Kristy (Adam) Yaeger of Hudson, Tom (Michelle) Herr of Mound, Minn., and Brandon (Miranda) Herr of Marshfield; eight grandchildren: Sam, Gracie and Sophia Wilczek, Ross and Ally Yaeger, Grayson and Thompson Herr and Sophia (Willis) Reynolds; one sister: Kathleen (James) Martin of Green Bay; his nephew: William (Diane) Martin of Franklin; his niece: Sara (Drew) Schiller of New Franken; brothers- and sisters-in-law; other relatives and many friends.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Jane; his parents; and his father- and mother- in-law, Robert and Dorothy Weyer. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given in Bill’s name to St. Mary’s Memorial Fund, 123 N. Main St., Greenwood, WI 54437.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.cuddiefh.com. Cuddie Funeral Home, Greenwood, is assisting the family with arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY 134545
