Lynn Binnie

Debra “Deb” A. Heiber, of Roscoe Township, IL, passed away on October 2, 2023, at the age of 70 years, at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics following complications from surgeries. She was with family members and comfortable at the time of her passing.

Deb was born on October 16, 1952, in Gary, Indiana; the daughter of Curtis H. and Alice M. Yule. She married Gary L. Heiber on May 27, 1972 in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. She graduated from Brookfield Central High School in Brookfield, WI. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1974 from Creighton University, including 3 years studying at Marquette University. Deb majored in English, minored in Spanish and received her secondary education teaching certification. She completed her Masters Degree in English and English Composition in 1978 at Marquette University. She continued taking many classes in Educational Administration, and had been in the educational field from 1974 until February 2016, 41 ½ years. Deb’s major positions were with the UW Center System/Rock County from 1982 to 1990. Then UW-Whitewater from 1990 until 2016. She was involved with developing many advising programs at Whitewater; first in the Registrar’s Office and then as Director of Advising in the College of Letters and Sciences.

Deb received 4 Academic Staff Excellence Awards at Whitewater. She was a founding member of WACADA (Wisconsin Academic Advising Association). They were a State Association of NACADA (National Academic Advising Association) founded in 1979. Deb was President-Elect of WACADA in 1997/98 and was President in 1998/99. She has received the 2002 WACADA Leadership Award. From NACADA, Deb received a Certificate of Merit in 1989, and in 1998 an Outstanding Advising Program Award, and in 2003, the Outstanding Advising Administrator Award.

Aside from advising students, Deb and Gary were longtime Marquette University Men’s Basketball fans, holding season tickets from 1970 to present, with the exception of three years when they lived in Nebraska. Deb spent many years following her son Mike’s activities in sports and music. After he was off to school, Deb became a part-time jewelry maker and sold jewelry in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, until her health interfered in 2021. She also enjoyed her time with her yoga group from North Pointe and was always an avid reader.

Deb is survived by her husband, Gary Heiber; her son, Michael “Mike” (Alyssa) Heiber of Cedar Park, TX; granddaughters, Mia J. and Clara V. Heiber of Cedar Park, TX; her sister, Christina (Phillip) Lear of Dade City, FL; and many extended family members and friends.

She is preceded in death by her father, Curtis H. Yule; and her mother, Alice M. (Yule) McGrew, who recently passed in 2021; two premature twins, Douglas and Emily, (who lived only a few days in 1981); her mother and father in-law, Carolyn and Donald Heiber;  and her stepfather, James McGrew.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at SCHNEIDER FUNERAL HOME, 1800 E. Racine St., Janesville, WI, 53545; with a meal being served immediately following the service in the LIFE CELEBRATION CENTER at Schneider Funeral Home. For online condolences and guestbook, please visit: www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com

Deb’s family would like to give a special thank you to the Palliative Care Floor at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. Additionally, an extra thank you to Kate and Tom Heiber-Cobb for their support in her last days and in helping organize her memorial service.

Ronald R. “Ron” Bergsten died at home in Prairie Village, Whitewater, Wisconsin, on November 8, 2023.

Ron was born in DeKalb, Illinois, on January 29, 1939, the youngest of three sons born to Soender and Ruth Bergsten.

For the first eight years of his education, Ron attended the training school at Northern Illinois University, then called Northern Illinois State Teachers College. After attending four years at DeKalb Public High School, he returned to NIU, where he obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Physics. He met and married his wife Nelda while at NIU. The couple celebrated 61 years of marriage last June.

He taught briefly at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. However, he was not comfortable with the climate in that area and sought employment in the Midwest. He was an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for thirty years, serving as Department Chair for the last three years of his tenure in the Physics Department. He was a much respected and beloved professor by his students, as he was always willing to go “above and beyond,” especially in working with students in independent study.

Ron’s dearest love, after his family, was bowhunting, and he was quite successful at it, getting his first deer in northern Michigan when he was just fourteen years old. He hunted every year until he was well into his 60s, and got over 40 deer during that time. He also enjoyed fishing, and he and his wife, Nelda, spent two weeks every year at Red Lake, in northwestern Ontario, pursuing that sport.

Ron was also a gifted woodworker and handyman. He completed several remodeling and improvement projects on the home near Palmyra that he and Nelda purchased in 1965. He also built a large garage, which included a three-season sun room overlooking the pond created by a flowing well on the property, a two-car garage, and a large shop facility in which he could pursue his love of woodworking. He singlehandedly did all of the work on that building, including electrical and heating aspects, except that the cement foundation and driveway were poured professionally. He also built fine furniture, including two hutches which have graced their home for the past forty-plus years.

Ron was also an avid hiker and dog-lover, hiking/walking 25-30 miles every week, which included three miles or more every day walking the dog, and a weekly outing with a hiking group.

Ron loved all aspects of wildlife and especially appreciated birding. He built the duck houses that grace the ponds in Prairie Village. He also built a shelter for a memorial bench near the garden in Prairie Village.

After Nelda’s retirement, the couple spent a full summer touring Alaska in a small camping trailer and accompanied by their dog Cody. That same year the couple enjoyed their first of eight years as “winter Texans,” camping at Texas state parks in a fifth-wheel camping trailer and accompanied initially by their dogs Cody, and later Aki.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Neil Warren Bergsten and Lenn Alan Bergsten. He is survived by his wife, Nelda, of Whitewater; daughter Carmen and son-in-law Bevo LaRue of Panama City, Panama; daughter Vicki and son-in-law Howard Brantmeyer of Reedsburg, Wisconsin; granddaughter Jasmine Brantmeyer and Elijah Torres, and grandson Nicholas and Emily Brantmeyer; and great-grandchildren Cameron, Eli, Autumn and Aurora Brantmeyer, all of Stoughton, Wisconsin.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Ron’s honor to the Humane Society of Jefferson County, or the Lakeland Animal Shelter.

Respecting his wishes, there will be no public service. A private memorial service will be held at a later date.

Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com

David Harvey “Feedbag” Papcke

June 14, 1933~November 3, 2023

David H. Papcke “Feedbag,” 90, passed away Friday, November 3, 2023 at Vintage on the Ponds in Delavan, WI. He was born June 14, 1933 to Fred and Martha (Arndt) Papcke, in Whitewater, WI. the 4th of 11 children. Dave attended South Heart Prairie School, across the road from the family’s home farm where Dave would carry a bucket of water every day to school for 10 cents. The story is that his mother Martha spent more time in school than Dave did!

In the early 1950’s Dave would work for Earl Cook, owner of the Millard Feed Mill, Elkhorn. Dave’s neighbor Evelyn Schultz-Schultz would sit in her front porch and watch Dave go to work and come home. Dave acquired the nickname of “Feedbag” from Evelyn Schultz-Schultz as Dave’s job was hauling bags of feed to farmers in the area. In 1953 Dave was drafted in the United States Army Signal Corp. serving from 1953-1955, returning to the family farm. Dave would farm days and work nights at the Amphenol Borg Pile Fabric Division, Delavan, WI as a machine knitter. In 1972, the plant would close; Dave was asked to transfer to Georgia, and his reply was no! He would return to the family farm becoming a cash crop farmer, raising Black Angus Beef Cattle. Dave’s deer hunting career started at the age of 16 hunting with his oldest sister Marion. Dave enjoyed ice fishing, hunting turkeys, spending hours shooting gophers, cutting and splitting wood for the stove in his big red shed and his house and lots of “windshield farming.” “The code of the Prairie is you never go to town and come back home on the same road!” (Ask Craig, his partner in crime!)

Dave was one of the founding members of the Lauderdale-LaGrange Fire Department in 1959, was a member of the Millard Church, served on the board of the Millard Church, member of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, and a member of the NRA. On September 12, 2015, he enjoyed his Stars and Stripes Wisconsin Honor Flight with his nephew Jeff Papcke.

Dave is survived by his wife of 64 years, Barb of Elkhorn, WI. He is also survived by his daughter, Cindy of Elkhorn, WI; his grandchildren Angiejo (Chad) Fay of Ava, MO; Kristeen (Andrew) Jones of Janesville, WI; Alan (Danielle) Salzwedel of New Lisbon, WI; his great-grandsons Tavvin & Kore Dorsey of Ava, MO; step- granddaughter Leigh (Justin) Gulas of Lyndon Station, WI; great-great-grandsons, Castile & Axel Gulas of Lyndon Station, WI. He is also survived by his siblings Marjorie Roloff, Norman (Anita) Papcke, Doris (LeRoy) DeVries, Darvon (Betty) Papcke, Diane (Floyd Finney) Papcke; sister-in-law Janet Papcke; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Martha Papcke; his stepfather George Sherman; and his siblings Allen Papcke, Marion (Jerry) Harris, Arlene (Robert/Bud) Rowley, Carol (David/Dub) Agen, Jack Papcke; and brother-in-law Eric Roloff.

A Memorial Service will take place on Friday, November 17, 2023, at Millard Community Covenant Church, N6713 County Road O, Elkhorn, WI, at 11:00 a.m. with Pastors Chris and Sharon Nelson officiating. Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service. Burial will take place at the South Heart Prairie Cemetery with Military Honors. A celebration of life luncheon will follow in the church Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Dave’s name to Agrace Hospice Care: 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711 or Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, P. O. Box 867, Menomonee Falls, WI 53052, or Millard Community Covenant Church, N6713 County Road O, Elkhorn, WI 53121. Arrangements are under the direction of Haase-Lockwood & Associates Funeral Homes and Crematory of Elkhorn, WI. An online guestbook can be found at www.haaselockwoodfhs.com.