24 July 2024

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SCHMIDBAUER

SCHMIDBAUER


SCHMIDBAUER from page 4 parison is valuable in understanding the way elders of the past sometimes should not be judged by social norms of the present. Earl said the Schmidbauers “ran a good bar.” Betty remembers how busy it was. Earl said for context, you have to remember this was the era before easy-access liquor stores became mainstream. He jumped to when John Schmidbauer took over
23 July 2024

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Regina “Joyce” Koffman

Regina “Joyce” Koffman


   Regina “Joyce” Koff­man, lov­ing wife, mother, and grand­mother, passed away peace­fully on July 14, 2024, at the Chris­t­ian Home in Waupun.   Joyce was born in Lovilia, IA, on March 30, 1934, to Wal­ter and Mary (nee Hackathorn) Beary. On March 30, 2024, she cel­e­brated her 90th birth­day sur­rounded by her chil­dren, grand­chil­dren, and great-grand­chil­dren, who were her pride and joy.      Joyce grad­u­ated as vale­dic­to­rian from Lovilia High School in 1952.   She mar­ried the love of her life, Alex Koff­man on Sep­tem­ber 11, 1954. After mar­ry­ing Alex, the cou­ple moved to Ames, IA, where Joyce worked as a dress model in a dress shop while Alex at­tended and grad­u­ated from col­lege. Through a col­lege friend, the cou­ple learned of some farms avail­able in the Eden area; they pur­chased their dairy farm in 1961, mov­ing to Wis­con­sin with their four chil­dren. They con­tin­ued ex­pand­ing their fam­ily for a total of eight chil­dren.   Joyce loved spend­ing time with her fam­ily. Known as the “Blue Zephyr” within the fam­ily for her strong work ethic; she milked cows, tended a large gar­den, sewed cloth­ing, and kept her eight chil­dren healthy and safe.  Joyce loved being “Mut­tie” and raised her fam­ily with God as her guide and joy in her heart. She was a great sound­ing board and was al­ways avail­able for one-on-one con­ver­sa­tions, shar­ing her years of wis­dom and humor. She al­ways said to come down in the morn­ing with a smile, even send­ing kids back up­stairs in the morn­ing and telling them to come down when they could get a smile on their face in­stead of a frown.      While farm­ing, Joyce was an ac­tive mem­ber of the Na­tional Farm­ers Or­ga­ni­za­tion, the Rosary Club at St. Mary’s – Eden, and a 4-H Leader in sewing and foods. For many years, Joyce made both beau­ti­ful wire and string rosaries that she do­nated, in­clud­ing to ac­tive mil­i­tary per­son­nel.      After rais­ing her chil­dren, Joyce went to Moraine Park Tech­ni­cal Col­lege and grad­u­ated on May 27, 1988, with a tech­ni­cal diploma as a Nurs­ing As­sis­tant. She worked at Rolling Mead­ows Nurs­ing Home until the mid-1990s.     Life­long learner, Joyce took classes in cake dec­o­rat­ing, hair cut­ting, ce­ram­ics, jew­elry mak­ing, and com­put­ers.  She al­ways made a point of mak­ing a spe­cial birth­day cake for each of her chil­dren and many of her grand­chil­dren. Joyce made wed­ding cakes for sev­eral area wed­dings and for many of her chil­dren. On Sat­ur­days, Joyce would make pan­cakes for the kids and often make cin­na­mon rolls for Sun­day morn­ings. Great aro­mas al­ways came from her kitchen, such as home­made bread, cook­ies, pies, and tortes. She would al­ways have spe­cial treats for the grand­kids when they came to visit.     After re­tir­ing, Joyce and Alex trav­eled, fly­ing to Ire­land, Rome, Hong Kong, and Puerto Rico. For many years, the cou­ple spent win­ters in Florida and the warmer months in Wis­con­sin.     Joyce leaves be­hind her chil­dren, Michael Koff­man, James (Cyn­thia) Koff­man, William (Barb) Koff­man, Sh­eryl (Michael) Dreikosen, Ed­ward (Jan­ice) Koff­man, Regina (Kathy Smith) Koff­man, Mary Koff­man, and Larry (Heather) Koff­man; her grand­chil­dren, Mi­randa Treiber, An­drew (Katie) Koff­man, An­thony (Jes­sica) Koff­man, Joseph (Lind­sey) Koff­man, Cather­ine (An­drew) Ehlers, Tonya (Bubba) Charne­ski, Lana (Dave) Van Ess, Paul Dreikosen, Alex (Megan) Dreikosen, Erin (Michael) Burke, Luke (Caitlin) Koff­man, Samuel Koff­man, Jacob Koff­man, and Thomas Koff­man; her great-grand­chil­dren, Han­nah, Peter, and Grace Koff­man; Patrick, David, and Ste­fanie Koff­man; Jana, Lena, and Nora Koff­man; Eliz­a­beth and Car­o­line Ehlers; Tyler and Trevor Charne­ski; Oliver and Henry Dreikosen; Alexa Burke; Kar­leia Koff­man; her sis­ter, Helen Williams; and sis­ters-in-law, Mar­i­lyn Koff­man, Georgina Beary, and Betty Beary.     Joyce was pre­ceded in death by her lov­ing hus­band of 65 years, Alex Koff­man and her grand­son, Daniel Treiber. She was also pre­ceded by her broth­ers, Larry (Joan), Wal­ter, and Jerome Beary; sis­ters, Lor­retta (Ernie) Corso and Pauline (Robert) Cla­man; and broth­ers-in-law, Pete Williams, Michael Koff­man, John (Dorothy) Koff­man, Kay (Bill) Myers, Thomas Koff­man, and Paul (Jane) Koff­man.      Spe­cial thanks to Flora and the staff at the Waupun Chris­t­ian Home for their lov­ing care of Joyce and their sup­port to the fam­ily over the last four years.     Vis­i­ta­tion was held Sun­day, July 28, at Twohig Fu­neral Home in Camp­bell­sport from 3 to 6 p.m. with a fam­ily rosary at 5:30 p.m. at the fu­neral home, and on the day of the fu­neral from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church. A Mass of Chris­t­ian Bur­ial was held on July 29, at Shep­herd of the Hills Catholic Church at 11 a.m., with in­ter­ment af­ter­wards at St. Mary’s Ceme­tery in Eden.   Memo­r­ial gifts can be di­rected to the Shep­herd of the Hills choir fund, W1562 County Road B, Eden, WI 53019 (make checks out to “Shep­herd of the Hills” and de­note ‘Choir Fund’ in the memo line).     Twohig Fu­neral Home is serv­ing the fam­ily with on­line guest­book and con­do­lences at www.​two​higf​uner​als.​com.
17 July 2024

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RURAL WRITES

RURAL WRITES


| RURAL WRITES | G.A. SCHEINOHA CONTRIBUTOR Come hell or high water is more than just an expression round these parts lately. Particularly with all the rain that’s came and went. And still further skyfall in the forecast as I write this. Along with flood warnings. Sure, we’re below sea level here in Wisconsin. Though it’s not like we expect to be inundated by an ocean anytime soon.

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Embracing Stoicism

Embracing Stoicism


| PUBLISHER LETTERS | Embracing Stoicism Dear Reader, In the hustle and bustle of our modern world, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the pressures and challenges we face daily. However, the timeless wisdom of Stoicism, as articulated by great thinkers like Seneca, Cicero, and Marcus Aurelius, offers a path to inner peace and a meaningful life. By viewing each day as a separate life, practicing

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