News & Events

Florence H. Pape, age 105, of Whitewater and longtime resident of Little Prairie, WI passed away on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at Hearthstone Memory Care in Whitewater. Florence was born on October 5, 1918 in the Town of Eagle, WI the youngest child of Frederick and Harriet (Watson) Kuhl. She grew up in the village of Little Prairie and attended high school in Milwaukee while living with her sister, Edith. After completing her schooling, Florence was united in marriage to Arthur E. Pape and the two were blessed with a son, Robert. The family moved around for Arthur’s work, mostly … Read more

Update 5/1/24 @ 4:50 p.m.: The location for the luncheon has been corrected. Keith Leonard Thayer found peace on April 27, 2024, at home after a courageous three-year battle with Stage 4 prostate cancer that metastasized into his bones; he later developed stage 1 lung cancer. He was born to Leonard and Marion Thayer on November 25th, 1957. Keith grew up in Lima Center and was from the wrong side of the track. Marcie, his future wife, walked down daily after they met. Keith and Marcie Mulrooney were married on June 21st, 1980, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Milton, … Read more

Editor’s note: A Royal Purple article, “Impactful newspaper adviser passes,” regarding Mr. Martino may be found here. Samuel Clifford Martino February 5, 1939 — April 20, 2024 DeForest- Sam Martino, 85, passed away on April 20, 2024 from a heart attack while mowing the lawn of his home in DeForest, WI. He was born in Clarksburg, W.Va., the son of Frank and Flora Ann Spino Martino. Sam was a passionate, award-winning journalist with a love of story-telling that started standing on a street corner in Dearborn, MI hawking newspapers and ended with tweeting. He began his reporting career in high … Read more

BENJAMIN D. RHODES (November 7, 1936 – April 22, 2024) Benjamin “Ben” Dagwell Rhodes, 87, of Grosse Pointe, MI, and longtime resident of Whitewater, WI, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and brother was born in St. Louis, MO. Having spent most of his childhood there and his teen years in Denver, CO, he was an avid lifelong Cardinals fan as well as expert outdoorsman, skier, and mountaineer.  He climbed all 58 peaks in Colorado above 14,000 feet of elevation, many multiple times. In addition, he climbed Mt Rainier in WA, Mt. Whitney in CA, and the Tetons in Wyoming. He also … Read more

Patricia Juene Duckworth, 70, of Fort Atkinson passed away on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at Fort Memorial Hospital. Patricia was born on June 7, 1953 in Modesto, California to Benjamin and Marilyn (Cooper) Morris. On November 26, 1983 Patricia married Ronald Duckworth and together they raised a son. For many years, Patricia worked as an administrative assistant at Fort Memorial Hospital. She enjoyed arts and crafts, pottery, and gardening. Patricia is survived by her husband, Ronald; son, Benjamin; and siblings, Michael Morris, and Melinda Nead. She is preceded in death by her parents, Benjamin and Marilyn Morris. The family would … Read more

Update 4/25/24: A memorial service will take place at 11 AM on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at First United Methodist Church in Whitewater.  A visitation will take place from 10 AM until the time of service.  A burial will follow the memorial service at Hillside Cemetery in Whitewater. Shirley Lorraine (Drays) Sweno, age 85 of Whitewater, passed away Wednesday, April 3, 2024. She was born January 8, 1939 to the late William and Lydia (Stork) Drays. Shirley was united in marriage to Howard Sweno Jr. on November 8, 1958 in Whitewater. She was a member of First United Methodist Church … Read more

Patricia (Pat) S. Johnson (Welter) passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 21, 2024 with her loving family by her side. Pat was born on March 24, 1951 in Edgerton, WI., the daughter of Stephen and Florence (Koscyczarek) Welter. Pat attended Whitewater High School graduating in 1969.  She attended UW-Whitewater. Pat worked at Schweiger Industries in Jefferson, WI, where she met her first husband Frank Heth.  They had two sons Shane and Todd.  In 1990 she married Maynard (Skip) Johnson.  They moved to Atlanta, Georgia where Pat was employed by Wal-Mart.  After a number of years in Georgia they returned to Wisconsin to be closer … Read more

Lawrence Edwin Schauder (Larry) of Punta Gorda, Florida passed away on April 12, 2024, at the age of 79. He was born January 28, 1945, in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Larry graduated from Rhinelander High School and attended classes at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. He took a break to serve two years in the military and returned to UW to graduate in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in business. He established Schauder Building, Inc. in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1974 which was in operation until his retirement in 2008. He was very active in the South Central Builders Association, and he … Read more

Donald Lee “Donny” Deegan, 76, of Whitewater passed away on Sunday, April 14, 2024 after a short stay at Alden Estates of Jefferson. Donny was born on October 19, 1947 to Daniel and Ada (Fitzpatrick) Deegan. He was raised in a family of 13 children and was very close to all of his siblings. Donny worked many years in construction, mostly roofing, until he had to retire due to health issues. Donny spent his whole life fishing and hunting. He was such a marksman that he once saw a buck while driving down the road, pulled over and parked, aimed … Read more

Teta Hoerman, of Antigo, died peacefully on April 15, 2024 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital surrounded by her family. She was 74 years old. She was born on December 24, 1949 in Whitewater, a daughter of Donald and Dora “Pat” (O’Connor) Platner. She married Dale Pellmann; they had three children. The couple later divorced. She married James Hoerman on June 12, 1992; he preceded her in death on November 16, 2014. Teta graduated from Whitewater High School in 1968. She was employed at Schweiger Furniture in Jefferson for over 20 years. She then received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of … Read more