Rea Ballard Ragatz (mother of John Ragatz) – added 3/12/09

Posted on March 30, 2009 by webmasterchuck

(posted 03/12/09) The following email was received from John Ragatz:

Friends and Relatives

Our beloved Mother, Rea Ballard Ragatz, finally left us today, March 11, 2009, in Denver, CO after a wonderful full life.  Born in Washington D.C.on August 12, 1910, she was 98 years old .  We feel very blessed that she was a part of our lives and lived a long, fufilling life with comfort and peace to the end. We will miss her dearly.
Seeing that she outlived most of her peers in Madison, WI, and Green Valley, AZ, there will not be a public memorial service. A tribute will appear in the obituaries section of the Wisconsin State Journal, Green Valley News and Valley Presbyterian Church. No donations are requested other than your kind thoughts and prayers.
WOW!  God bless Mom and all the many people who had the good fortune of crossing her path over nearly 100 years!

Alice, John and Peggy

P.S.  Below is a beautiful poem that Dad, Roy, wrote and secretly hid in the safety deposit box before he left us on November 17, 1989. He died on the tennis court in Green Valley right after winning a marathon set of doubles 9-7!  We felt, while personal, his note was a wonderful closure to his partner of 56 years, Mom, who finally reunited with him today.

AUF WIEDERSEHEN ( Until We Meet Again )

Don’t grieve for me;
Don’t bathe yourself in tears.
Recall, instead, with joy
Our many happy years.

Life is a transient space in God’s design,
To live beyond is but a wish.
May I live on in memory
As a loving mate, ever thine.

Live out your life with vigor;
Paint with joy in seeing
God’s handiwork around you.
Thus, I’m with you, evermore.

This is no time to say “good-bye;”
But rather a fond “Auf Wiedersehen.”
If eternal life is really true,
We two, as one, will never die.

Roy

Update: The following obituary announcement appeared on the Capital Times website on 3/22/09

Ragatz, Rea Ballard

Denver, Colo.
Rea Ballard Ragatz passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at Brighten Gardens, Denver, Colo.,on March 11, 2009. She was 98. She is predeceased by her beloved husband of 57 years, Roy, who died on the tennis court in Green Valley, Ariz., in 1989. She is survived by her children Alice Rea (William Bruce White, deceased) Toronto, Canada, John Ballard (Nancy Markham) Denver, Colo., Margaret Louise (Peggy) (David Alan Gaarder), Madison, Wis.; six grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. Rea was born in Washington, D.C., on August 12, 1910, grew up in Virginia and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1931, where she majored in art and design. She pursued her love of art at home in Shorewood Hills while the children were growing up and later returned to the university to take refresher courses. It was at this time that Rea decided to focus on the medium of watercolor. Active in art circles, Rea went on to become president of the Madison Art Center. In 1977, Rea and Roy moved permanently to Green Valley, where they had spent their winter months previously. Rea continued her painting in the Southwest, winning many regional awards and displaying in one woman shows. She was active in the Snow Bird Art Gallery in Green Valley both as an administrator, as well as a contributing artist. She also loved to play tennis. If desired, donations may be made to a charity of your choice in Rea Ragatz’s name.

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WEST HIGH SEEKS ALUMNI AID

Posted on March 23, 2009 by webmasterchuck

WEST HIGH SEEKS ALUMNI AID –  $150,000 NEEDED FOR NEW ENTRANCE

GAYLE WORLAND gworland@madison.com 608-252-6188 | Posted: Monday, March 23, 2009 12:00 am

West High School students will have a grand new entrance to come through next fall. But to help finance it, organizers are

looking down the street and across the country – to alumni.

Later this month, about 20,000 West High graduates will find in their mailboxes a donation plea for “The Ash Street Project,”

a $400,000, front yard reconfiguration of a building that many consider a Near West Side landmark. Designed by Madison

landscape architect Ken Saiki, a West High alum, the new entry will have a symmetrical, formal staircase, decorative walkway

and performance area.

Referendum funds and grants will cover $250,000 to replace the school’s crumbling steps and make the new entry comply

with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. But it’s up to West to raise another $150,000 to fund Saiki’s design, a vision

approved by a community committee, said Principal Ed Holmes.

“Technically the district money is enough to take down what we have and put it back the way it is,” Holmes said. “It’s time for

a renovation, kind of a starting over. The Ash Street entrance is really the symbol and the image of West High School that

people have had over the generations.”

Organizers hope to tap into that sense of connection by selling paving bricks engraved with a name or message for $100, $250

or $1,500, depending on size, to be set into the finished promenade.

It’s similar to having alumni “buy a seat” with a name plaque to help fund the renovation of a school auditorium, a method

formerly used by West and in 2006 by La Follette High School, which upgraded its seats in a $60,000 project. And soon, a

community group at East High will announce a multimillion-dollar, private fundraising campaign to renovate the school’s

auditorium, said East Principal Alan Harris.

Turning to alumni for big capital projects “has become an increasing trend,” said Martha Vukelich-Austin, president of the

Foundation for Madison Public Schools. “It’s really the economic times that our school districts are in.”

Yet fundraising for public schools “is still in its infancy,” said Dan Mansoor, a West alum and professional fundraiser in Ohio

hired to consult on the Ash Street Project.

The buy-a-brick campaign is meant to link school and community, and West has challenged each class and club to raise

$1,500 for its own paver, Mansoor said. He recalled that when the tennis courts at West – a spot where he’d spent many happy

hours as a student athlete – needed to be re-paved, no one approached him.

“If they would have asked, I would have given generously,” he said. “The number-one reason people don’t give is because

they’re not asked.”

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Louise Buschke (mother of Jon Buschke (added 3/19/09)

Posted on March 19, 2009 by webmasterchuck

Buschke, Louise

MADISON
Louise Buschke, age 93, passed away peacefully on Monday, March 16, 2009, at Sebring Assisted Living in Madison. She was born in Lodi on July 21, 1915. She and her husband Floyd were longtime residents of Madison before retiring to Florida in 1978. She was preceded in death by Floyd in 1988. In 2004 she returned to Madison in the care of her family. Louise had a long career in the business world beginning with Oscar Mayer, Sure Fine Foods, and a wholesale grocery firm known as the Sylvester Co. that was located at the foot of King Street. After the Sylvester Co. closed, she became the librarian at Cuna Mutual on Mineral Point Road in the 1970s, before retiring to Spring Hill, Fla. She was a charter member of Olbrich Gardens, and the BPW, Business and Professional Women’s Organization of Florida. She is survived by a son, Jon (Gail); three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a sister, Ruth. A memorial visitation will be held from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, 2009, at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions may be made to HospiceCare Inc., 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711. Louise will be dearly missed by all her family and friends in both Florida and Wisconsin.
Cress Funeral and Cremation Service 3610 Speedway Road (608) 238-3434 http://www.cressfuneralservice.com “

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Mark Musolf (Class of ’59) – added 03/15/09

Posted on March 15, 2009 by webmasterchuck

(posted 03/15/09 – from obituary appearing in Madison area newspapers)

Musolf, Mark E.

MADISON
On Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 1:30 p.m. at MADISON’S LUTHER MEMORIAL CHURCH, family and friends will gather to celebrate the life and contributions of Mark Edward Musolf. Mark died tragically on Dec. 16, 2008, in a motor vehicle accident in Price County which also left his wife, Jocelyn Jacobs, with severe injuries from which she continues to recover. The accident was a terrible shock to their families and friends including many in Madison, where they lived and worked for many years, and in Bayfield, their adopted community where they operated a bed and breakfast and where Mark served on the city council. Mark was born on Sept. 23, 1941, in Fond du Lac, to Helen J. (Bonham) and Claude E. Musolf. He grew up in Madison’s University Heights where he attended Randall Elementary School and West High School. During his high school years Mark and several friends faithfully wrote and published the “Heights Herald.” Its volumes still document the comings and goings of the neighborhood during the 1950s. Mark received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he played in the Marching Band, including at the 1963 Rose Bowl, and sang in campus vocal groups. He graduated from UW-Madison Law School in 1966, and was a devoted fan of UW athletics, especially football and hockey. Mark had a lifelong interest in politics and public service, including student government participation in grade school, high school and the university. He campaigned both on behalf of candidates he supported and on his own behalf in two valiant, if unsuccessful, campaigns for the Wisconsin Assembly. He was a key member of a group of moderate Republicans who helped Lee S. Dreyfus become governor in 1978 and served as revenue secretary in the Dreyfus administration. He served as deputy attorney general from 1987 to 1991 and was appointed chairman of the state Tax Appeals Commission during the 1990s. Mark was known for his integrity and generosity, and while nominally partisan, the manners and civility he brought to politics and public service earned him friends on both sides of the aisle. In Madison, Mark was a longtime Boy Scout leader and won the organization’s Silver Beaver distinguished service award for his many contributions to scouts and scouting. He was a lifelong environmentalist; he was active on behalf of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and served a term as state chairman. He, along with Jocelyn, was also active in the Bayfield Regional Conservancy and had joined its board shortly before his death. While they retained an apartment in his beloved Madison, Mark and Jocelyn spent much of their time in Bayfield, where they restored a one-time lumber baron’s residence which they opened as Wachsmuth House Bed and Breakfast. In addition to lending his voice to Bayfield’s city government (he was twice a winner in council races, raising his lifetime election record to 2-2), Mark also lent his deep voice to the Rittenhouse Singers for their annual Wassail dinner concerts. Mark was known for a laugh that approached a roar, for vanity license plates that tracked his running mileage over many years and for his loyalty to a close group of friends with whom he regularly shared breakfast at Mickie’s Dairy Bar or microbrews after work. Mark had the gift of making whomever he came into contact with feel welcome and at home in the world, but no one more so than his wife, Jocelyn, who misses him terribly. In addition to Jocelyn, and of course their dogs Max and Sophie, Mark is survived by his brothers, David Musolf (Roger Packard) and Richard Musolf (Sandy Musolf); niece, Kourtney (Musolf) Feldhausen (Joe Feldhausen, Emma, Cade and Elliot); and nephew, Chad Musolf (Gabby Camacho Musolf). He is further survived by sister-in-law, Roxanne (Andy) Koepke (Ben, Becky); mother-in-law, Carlene (James) Dusek; and father-in-law, Elwyn Jacobs. Following the service at Luther Memorial Church there will be a reception in the Wisconsin Memorial Union’s Main Lounge. Private inurnment will take place at a later date. A memorial service is also planned for Bayfield in June.

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Michael Wyngaard, (brother of classmate Judy Wyngaard Oosterhous) – (added 3/22/09)

Posted on March 2, 2009 by webmasterchuck

(posted 3/22/09) The following obituary appeared in the Madison newspapers website on 03/22/09:

Wyngaard, Michael

MADISON
Michael J. Wyngaard, age 71, died Friday, March 20, 2009, of congestive heart failure at his home with his wife Nancy at his side. His big heart finally failed him. He was born Aug. 12, 1937, in Madison, the son of John W. and Catherine (Corry) Wyngaard and the grandson of Henry Wijngaard, who emigrated from Holland. Michael served various roles in an active law practice for over 45 years and was especially proud to have created his own local firm which provided services to his many clients for 30 years. “I have lived a positive and rewarding life, there is nothing else I would have rather done.” Michael is survived by his cherished wife, Nancy; his children, Jane (Tom) Wyngaard-Innes, Katie (Darrick) Wyngaard-Niccum, Molly Wyngaard, John J. Wyngaard and Michael C. (Sarah) Wyngaard; grandchildren, Brighid, Shea, Grace, Jack, Lilly, Eric, Elise, Michael and Logan; siblings, John (Sandra) Wyngaard and their children of State College, Pa., Judy (George) Oosterhous and their children of Texarkana, Texas and Susan (Jane Snyder) of Albuquerque, N.M. He will also be missed by Nancy’s mother; brothers; sisters; nieces and nephews, who spent time with Aunt Sissy and Uncle Mike and loved and enjoyed him beyond measure. He was preceded in death by his parents; grandparents; brother, Tim Wyngaard; and niece, Betsy Wyngaard. Michael wanted to express his gratitude to Dr. Patrick Hughes for his knowledge, skill and care; to the Hospice team for their care and compassion; and to attorney Dan Kohls for his assistance in closing Michael’s law office and caring for his cherished clients. A visitation will be held from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m on Friday, March 27, 2009, at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the HospiceCare Foundation, Inc., or to an educational memorial fund to be established at a later date.
Cress Funeral and Cremation Service 3610 Speedway Road (608) 238-3434 http://www.cressfuneralservice.com

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