Surrounded by loved ones, the Lord extended His hand to Geraldine “Geri” Zirbel on November 14, 2022, when she peacefully entered her eternal home.    Geri was born on December 1, 1936, to Ernst and Hilda (nee Schwartz) Schneiter in the Town of Knowles. She grew up in Leroy and shared fond memories of climbing trees, reading books and playing with the neighborhood kids.    She met the love of her life, William ‘Willie’ J. Zirbel, in 1953, at Zivko’s Ballroom in nearby Hartford. They were married on June 18, 1955, at Zion Lutheran Church in the Town of Theresa and continued to waltz and polka throughout their 65-year marriage.   Geri was a longtime member of St. John Lutheran Church, Browns Corners, serving on multiple committees, including the quilting circle where the group made quilts for both international charities and local homeless shelters. She coupled this with her love of rummaging, always on the lookout for sheets and blankets which she meticulously washed to be repurposed for much-needed comfort.    Geri also brought comfort through her delicious desserts. She tediously made from scratch butterhorns, birthday cakes and dozens of various batches of Christmas cookies during the holidays. She was best known for her schaum torte, which delighted family, friends and church luncheon attendees.   She was an avid gardener and devoted much time to her beautiful perennial gardens. Her green thumb meant that plants often needed to be ‘thinned’ and she generously shared plants with family and friends. In this sense, a part of her will live on and bring joy for years to come.    Known for a strong work ethic, Geri worked at several companies and made lifelong friends along the way. This includes the furniture company, Rilling-Endlich, and Tab Products, from which she eventually retired.    Geri is survived by six children, Dennis (Laura) Zirbel; Debra (Roy) Hale; Cindy Zirbel Wrucke; Brian (Nancy) Zirbel; Mark (Susan) Zirbel; and Jodi (Douglas) Marose; 13 grandkids (Justin, Kelly, Brandon, Ben, Sarah, Nick, Megan, Ian, Erica, Tyler, Sawyer, Stephanie and Cassie); and 21 great grandkids (Ainsley, Willa, Hayden, Charli, Seth, Myles, Myka, Addison, Noah, Owen, Shea, Alex, Wiley, Aubrey, Brody, Claire, Quinn, Brynn, Thatcher, Blakeleigh and Watson). She is further survived by two sisters, Lillian Wondra and Georgia Schneiter; two brothers, James and Kenneth Schneiter; and one brother-in-law, Richard (Judith) Zirbel.    She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Willie; her parents; brothers, Maynard, Milford, Norman, Orville, Gerald, Jay; sister, Donna Mae; and infant grandson, Nathaniel.   Special thanks to Geri’s neighbors John and Sue Shoettel for their care and support.   A funeral service for Geraldine took place on Monday, Nov. 21, at 11 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church, Browns Corners with the Rev. Allen Behnke officiating. A visitation was held on Sunday, Nov. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Koepsell Funeral Home in Mayville and again on Monday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the church. Burial took place at St. John Lutheran Cemetery, Browns Corners.   Memorials may be directed to St. John Lutheran Church, Browns Corners.   Koepsell Funeral Home is serving the family. www.KoepsellFH.com

   Math­ias ‘Matt’ Stand­ford Hoff­man, 104, passed away peace­fully on Tues­day, Nov. 8, 2022, at his home in Neda.   Matt was born the son of Anton and Anna (Kohler) Hoff­man on Oc­to­ber 2, 1918, in Ohio.   He was united in mar­riage to Eve­lyn Weg­in­ger on March 7, 1938. They shared 74 years of mar­riage be­fore her death in 2012. The cou­ple wel­comed seven chil­dren, Math­ias, Jr., Ger­ald, Pa­tri­cia, John, Bev­erly, Robert, and Tony. They lived in sev­eral places in Dodge County be­fore set­tling in Neda.   Matt was a mem­ber of the Rock River League Hall of Fame and an hon­orary mem­ber of the Mayville Amer­i­can Le­gion Post #69 be­cause he was spend­ing so much time there with his friends shoot­ing the breeze and hav­ing some re­fresh­ments. He loved play­ing sheepshead (every­one had to have as­signed seats) and en­joyed tak­ing gam­ing trips. Every­one that knew Matt cher­ished his smile and sense of humor. Matt was still in­de­pen­dent and drove his own ve­hi­cle up until a few months ago and con­tin­ued to live in­de­pen­dently in his own home until his death. Matt loved his wife deeply and when she was ad­mit­ted to a nurs­ing fa­cil­ity, he made sure to be there from early in the morn­ing until late in the evening, only tak­ing a short break for lunch.    Matt is sur­vived by his chil­dren, Matt Jr. of Brook­field, John (Beve) of Marke­san, and Bev­erly Wein­heimer of Beaver Dam; his daugh­ters-in-law, Taddy Hoff­man of Hori­con, Norita Hoff­man of Iron Moun­tain, and Bon­nie Hoff­man of Mon­tello; his many grand­chil­dren, great-grand­chil­dren, and great-great-grand­chil­dren; fur­ther sur­vived by other rel­a­tives and many friends.   He was pre­ceded in death by his par­ents; his wife, Eve­lyn; sons, Robert, Tony, and Gerry; daugh­ter, Pa­tri­cia (Jack) Griss­man; son-in-law, Chet Wein­heimer; his daugh­ter-in-law, Carol; his great-grand­daugh­ter, Casey Schwartz; great-grand­son, Cody Laufen­berg; grand­daugh­ters, Jes­sica and Nic­hole Griss­man; great-great-grand­sons, Oc­tavius and Earl Schwartz and David Echev­er­ria; and his grand­daugh­ter's hus­band, Mark Rantala.   A Mass of Chris­t­ian Bur­ial was held on Sat­ur­day, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m. at Sa­cred Heart Parish in Hori­con with the Rev. Fr. Justin Lop­ina pre­sid­ing. Vis­i­ta­tion was held from 9 to 11 a.m. at the church in Hori­con. A pri­vate fam­ily bur­ial will be held at Grace­land Ceme­tery in Mayville.   In lieu of flow­ers, memo­ri­als in mem­ory of Matt can be di­rected to the Mayville Amer­i­can Le­gion Post#69, St. Jude’s, or the Wounded War­rior Pro­ject.   Koepsell Fu­neral Home in Mayville is serv­ing the fam­ily. www.​KoepsellFH.​com

   Alfred “Ole” Albertson Jr. of Neosho, passed away in the comfort of his home and the loving care of his family on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.    Ole was born January 13, 1945, in Ashland, to parents Adele (nee Gervais) and Alfred Albertson Sr.   He was united in marriage to his first wife Mary Lou in 1967, until her passing in 1984. Alfred later met and married his beloved wife Linda (nee Otte) on June 29, 1985.   Ole was a man of the great outdoors and all that came with it, including staying active walking outside, canoeing trips, and of course hunting. As an avid hunter, his passion carried into his work as he owned and ran an archery supply shop. In Ole’s shop there was everything one needed for bow hunting, he even hand crafted their own arrows, cutting and adding in the feathers by hand. He was a great teacher, providing many lessons to kids on how to shoot so they could learn properly and safely. Over the years Ole was dedicated to working with many schools in the surrounding areas to implement archery programs and classes for students to take part in. Ole also worked proudly for John Deere for over 30 years, leading to his retirement.    Ole is survived by his beloved wife, Linda, of 37 years; loving children, Lisa (Steve) Michaels, Dakota Albertson (Carolann Calcote); cherished grandchildren, Steven (Alyssa) Michaels, Bradley (Ashlee) Michaels, Sahara (Josh) Trott, and Cody (Baylee) Panek; treasured great-grandchildren, Skylar, Walker, Ollie, Otto, Hunter, Ariel, Estella, and Roman; dear siblings, Bettie Pierce, Laina Finamore, Bob (Char) Albertson, Kris (Gary) Foss. Ole is further survived by his nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and many other loved relatives and friends.    He was preceded in death by his parents; first parents-in-law, John and Geraldine Reynolds, parents-in-law, Lawrence and Marion Otte; his first wife, Mary Lou; and children, Alfred Albertson lll and Michelle “Shelly” Albertson.    Memorial services for Ole were held Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 3 p.m. at the Shimon Funeral Home (824 Union Street Hartford, WI 53027) with Pastor Joshua Kesting saying prayers. Family greeted relatives and friends at the funeral home from 1 pm. to 2:50 p.m. A private inurnment took place at St. Bartholomeu Cemetery.   The Shimon Funeral Home served the family. Condolences and tributes may be shared: www.shimonfuneralhome.com

   Sandra L. Kohrt, age 74, of Mayville passed away on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022 at Aurora Medical Center in Summit.   Sandi was born the daughter of Walter and Marcella ‘Susie’ (Franke) Dewitz on September 15, 1948, in Hustisford.   She was a graduate of Horicon High School and then went on to receive her master’s degree in Librarian Sciences.  Sandi was united in marriage to Larry Kohrt on June 27, 1994.   Sandi spent her career as a librarian in various places such as, St. Killian’s, Three Lakes, and the Mayville School District.   She was a member of Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church (River Church).   In her spare time, Sandi enjoyed flowers and gardening. Alongside her husband Larry, they enjoyed collecting various vintage items such as local area Dairy bottles. She also loved crafting and making stamped cards. Sandi also volunteered for the Wisconsin Republican Party and was also a member of the VFW Auxiliary #10170.    Sandi is survived her husband Larry of Mayville; Larry’s daughter, Janelle (Marty) Strupp of Allenton; nieces, Jackie (Chad) Westover of Princeton, Melanie (Tyler Killmon) Stratman of Oconomowoc and Angel Zurn; her nephews, Dustin Bensley of Waupun and Joshua (Tammy Jahns) Dewitz; her sister, Jean Singer of Big Falls; her sister-in-law, Bonnie Legate of Mayville; her brother-in-law, Rich Binkus of West Palm Beach; her great-nieces and nephews, Aaron, Mekenzie, Juliya, Jasmyn, Noah, Alyssa, Ethan, Lexi, and Marcus; further survived by other relatives and friends.   She was preceded in death by her parents; her son, Travis Oresnik; brother, Jim Dewitz; and sister, Jean Binkus.   A funeral service for Sandi will take place on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. at Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church (River Church) in Theresa with the Rev. Douglas Zahner officiating. A visitation will be held on Thursday, Nov. 10, from 12 until 2 p.m. at the church. Burial will take place at Hochheim Cemetery.   Memorials may be directed to Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church (River Church).    Koepsell Funeral Homes in Mayville is serving the family. www.KoepsellFH.com

   Marilyn I. Pea, 87, of North Fond du Lac, died on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at St. Agnes Hospital.   She was born on October 16, 1935, in Fond du Lac, the daughter of Floyd and Anita (Kranz) Stafford.   Marilyn attended school in Oakfield.   She married Francis Wondra in October of 1956. He passed away eleven and a half years later. Marilyn then married Gilbert Schabel and he passed away after two and a half years. Then Marilyn married Clarence Pea and their marriage lasted for forty-two years until his passing.   Marilyn had a very strong faith and a love for Jesus and was a member of Community United Methodist Church in North Fond du Lac.   Marilyn had many sewing jobs in Mayville and Fond du Lac. She was known for her arts and crafts work. In her later years she had a business in her home making dolls. She made over 6000 dolls. Marilyn had three happy marriages. She and her husband loved her nieces and nephews very much. They were like her own. Marilyn loved to travel and took her family on many trips. She loved cooking and baking for family and for church sales. She was also an avid Green Bay Packers fan. Marilyn took great pride in gardening and taking care of her flowers. She lit up the room and was a light in everyone’s life.   Survivors include her brothers, James Stafford and Dan (Joye) Stafford; many nieces and nephews, special nieces, Tina (Ken) Johnson and Tiffany Stafford; special nephew, Dave (Misty) Stafford; special great-nephews, Taylor Stafford, Leon Stafford, Seth Carpenter, Tanner Dalske, Drake Stafford, and Kaydin Stafford; special great-niece, Anita Stafford; and other relatives and friends.   She was preceded in death by her parents; three husbands; siblings, Lavelda (Tom) Royer, Alice (Carl) Sjoquist; sister-in-law, Marlene Stafford; special niece, Angela Stafford; niece, Kathy Nytes; grandparents, Leon and Lillian Stafford; other family members, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Wondra, Lone Pea, and Irv and Arlene Pea.    Visitation will take place on Thursday, Nov. 10, from 2:30 until 5:30 p.m. at Uecker-Witt Funeral Home. Please join the family following the visitation for a dinner at the Eagles Club, 515 N. Park Ave. Fond du Lac, WI, 54935.   Visitation will also take place on Friday, Nov. 11, from 11 a.m. until 12 p.m. at Community United Methodist Church, 701 Minnesota Ave, North Fond du Lac, WI, 54937. A funeral service will follow the visitation at the church on Friday. Private family burial will follow the service at St. Andrew’s Cemetery in Leroy.   Services are in the care of Uecker-Witt Funeral Home, 524 North Park Avenue, Fond du Lac, WI, 54935. Additional information and guestbook can be found at ueckerwitt.com

   Joanne C. (Grosenick) Spiker, 81, of Ar­vada, Col­orado, passed away on Fri­day, Oct. 28, 2022 after a lengthy and coura­geous bat­tle with can­cer. Her son, Jeff, and his wife, Heather, and grand­daugh­ter, Brooke, were at her bed­side when she was called home to Heaven.   Joanne was born on May 12, 194l, the daugh­ter of Wal­ter and Hertha (Giese) Grosenick in Mayville.   She was a 1959 grad­u­ate of Mayville High School.    Fol­low­ing grad­u­a­tion, she began her sec­re­tar­ial ca­reer at Maysteel in Mayville.   In 1964, she and her sis­ter, Jane, em­barked on a new ad­ven­ture leav­ing Mayville and mov­ing to Den­ver, Col­orado, where she has resided for the past 58 years. Dur­ing those years, she worked as an ad­min­is­tra­tive as­sis­tant at var­i­ous schools and com­pa­nies and re­tired fol­low­ing more than 45 years of em­ploy­ment.    In re­tire­ment, Joanne lived life to the fullest, trav­el­ing, play­ing Texas Hold ‘Em, re­turn­ing to Mayville for class re­unions and vis­it­ing with fam­ily and friends, and es­pe­cially spend­ing time with her fam­ily. Her two grand­chil­dren, Brooke and Kyle, were the biggest joy of her life. She loved play­ing cards, play­ing bas­ket­ball, bowl­ing, going to movies, at­tend­ing their games and ac­tiv­i­ties, and bak­ing cook­ies with them.    Joanne is sur­vived by her son, Jef­fery (Heather) Spiker of Ar­vada, CO; grand­chil­dren, Brooke and Kyle Spiker of Ar­vada, CO; sis­ters, Jane Con­niff of Edge­wa­ter, CO, Janet (Den­nis) Hus­sli of Mayville; sis­ter-in-law, Pam Grosenick of Great Falls, MT; brother-in-law and sis­ter-in-law, Duane (Janet) Spiker of Den­ver, CO, along with many nieces and nephews.   She was pre­ceded in death by her par­ents and her brother, Jerome, in 2018.    A cel­e­bra­tion of Joanne’s life will be held on Sat­ur­day, Nov.12, at 11 a.m. at Peace Lutheran Church, 5675 Field Street, Ar­vada, CO. It will also be live streamed on youtube @ https://​www.​youtube.​com/​c/​PeaceArvada/​streams.   Memo­ri­als in her name may be made to Peace Lutheran Church or a char­ity of your choice.    In­urn­ment will take place at a later date at St. John’s Lutheran Church (Browns Cor­ners), Hori­con, where she was a mem­ber while liv­ing in Wis­con­sin.

   Kaylee Josephine Dyk­stra, 15, of Hori­con passed away peace­fully on Thurs­day, Nov. 3, 2022, with her fam­ily by her side at her home in Hori­con after an 11-month hard fought bat­tle with B-cell Lym­phoblas­tic leukemia.    Kaylee was born the daugh­ter of Barry and Nicole (Tucker) Dyk­stra on De­cem­ber 6, 2006.   Kaylee was a strong, free spir­ited, and cre­ative girl. Kaylee had a big heart and loved her fam­ily and the time she spent with them. She was at­tend­ing Hori­con High School and was ac­tive in the BSA girls’ troop 6838. Kaylee was al­ways lend­ing a hand and was al­ways there to vol­un­teer at coun­cil events. She loved the out­doors and en­joyed kayak­ing and doing out­door ac­tiv­i­ties with the scouts. Kaylee also loved camp­ing and in­sisted the only way to camp was in a tent! She was also very artis­tic and liked to sketch, paint, and craft. Kaylee was pro­tec­tive of her friends at school and was con­sid­ered the ‘mama bear’ of the group. She was al­ways there to help them. Kaylee was also a big help at school with her teach­ers and at home with her fam­ily. She loved and adored her girl­friend, Abby Kamps.   Kaylee fought hard for more than 11 months and showed what true spirit means. Kaylee will al­ways be re­mem­bered as a fun -oving and smil­ing kid.    Kaylee is sur­vived by her par­ents, Barry and Nicole of Hori­con; her sib­lings, Amber Dyk­stra of Green Bay, Hunter Schrauf­nagel of Beaver Dam, Lydia, Levi, Sawyer, Sut­ton Dyk­stra of Hori­con, and Tucker Dyk­stra of Beaver Dam; grand­par­ents, Bob and Linda Tucker of Fond du Lac and Mike and Joanne Rubel of Horn Lake, Mis­sis­sippi. Robert Dyk­stra of Ripon; great grandpa, Don­ald Schultz of Beaver Dam; her uncle and aunts, Ash­ley Tucker of Fond du Lac, Joe (Amanda) Tucker of Beaver Dam, and Ben Dyk­stra of Or­angeville, IL; her nephew, Rylen Fry of Jef­fer­son; fur­ther sur­vived by other rel­a­tives and many friends.   She was pre­ceded in death by her great grand­par­ents.   A cel­e­bra­tion of Kaylee’s life will take place on Sat­ur­day, Nov. 19, at 3 to 10 p.m. at the IAM Local 873, 258 Barstow St. Hori­con, WI 53032.   Kaylee’s fam­ily wishes to the thank the Hori­con Com­mu­nity, Hori­con School Dis­trict, UW Chil­dren’s Hos­pi­tal, Hill­side Hos­pice and Home­care, her scout­ing fam­ily, and all the fam­ily and friends who have sup­ported Kaylee and her fam­ily.    Memo­ri­als may be di­rected to Kaylee’s fam­ily.   Koepsell Fu­neral Home in Hori­con is serv­ing the fam­ily. www.​KoepsellFH.​com

   June D. Lehner, 92, of Kekoskee, passed away on November 3, 2022, at Hope Health in Lomira.    June was born the daughter of William and Emma (Schroeder) Quinn on June 22, 1930, in Ripon.   June was united in marriage to Wilfred Lehner on September 10, 1955, in Ripon.   She was a faithful member of St. Andrew Catholic Church in LeRoy.    June was a bookkeeper for many years for Oakstone Company in Oakfield. She also was town clerk in Kekoskee for over 25 years.   In her leisure time, she enjoyed traveling especially to their cottage at Lake Puckaway. June cherished the time she spent with her family and enjoyed watching her grandchildren in their sports. June also enjoyed bowling.    June is survived by her daughter Jody (Terry Wolter) Schroeder; her grandsons, Jason (Melissa) Schroeder, Jesse (Sara) Schroeder, and Josey (Sarah) Schroeder; great-grandchildren, Morgan, Molly, Bradley, and Gideon; and sisters-in-law, Arlene (Tom) Bobb and Ruth Lehner. June is further survived by other relatives and friends.    June was preceded in death by her parents; her loving husband, Wilfred; infant son, Billy; her five sisters, Myrle, Rosie, Grace, Marion, and Gloria; one brother, Happy; and son-in-law, Jeff Schroeder.   A Mass of Christian Burial for June will take place on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, at 12 Noon at St. Andrew Catholic Church in LeRoy.    Visitation for June will be from 10:30 a.m. until time of service at 12 noon. Fr. Thomas Pulikkeel-Chacko will be presiding. Interment will follow at St. Andrew Cemetery in LeRoy.    Koepsell Funeral Home in Mayville is caring for the family. www.Koepsellfh.com

   Hazel M. Benter, 92, of Mayville, was welcomed by her loving Savior on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at Hospice Home of Hope in Fond du Lac.    Hazel was born on September 16, 1930, to August and Henrietta (Schmidt) Schwantes in the Town Hubbard.   Hazel was united in marriage to the love of her life, Louis Benter, on August 25, 1951, at Zion Lutheran Church in Horicon.   Hazel was a faithful member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mayville.   Hazel was employed at various places over the years including Ryser Cheese, AP Grocery, and Piggly Wiggly. She worked for many years and retired from Mayville Metal.   Hazel was famous for her delicious Christmas cutout cookies. She was a member of the Mayville Legion Auxiliary. Hazel loved her family dearly. She enjoyed spending time with them and supported her grandchildren at all their sporting events.    Hazel is survived by her husband, Louis Benter; her son, Gary (Laurie) Benter; grandchildren, Melissa Benter; Katie Vaughn; great-grandchildren, Addison and Lillian. Hazel is further survived by other relatives and friends.    Hazel was preceded in death by her parents and nine siblings.   Funeral services for Hazel will take place on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mayville, with Rev. Richard Collier officiating. Visitation for Hazel will be on Thursday, Nov. 10, from 10 a.m. until the time of service at 11 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mayville. Interment will follow at St. Paul Cemetery in Mayville.   The family wishes to express their gratitude to Prairie Ridge and Hospice Home of Hope for all the care given to Hazel.    Koepsell Funeral Home in Mayville is caring for the family. www.Koepsellfh.com