Melvin M. Kopitzke, age 89, of Edgerton,
formerly of Shawano, passed away Sunday, Oct. 1, 2006, at his
home surrounded by his loving family.
Melvin was born on May 30, 1917,
in the Town of Dupont, Marion, the son of the late Richard and
Ella
(Niemuth) Kopitzke. He was united
in marriage to Ione Redlin on Oct. 13, 1943, at the Mt. Olive
Lutheran Church, Appleton. He was a member of Central Lutheran
Church, Edgerton. He served his country in the United States
Army from Sept. 10, 1941 to Jan. 22, 1946. He served with the
98th Engineering Maintenance Co. in the Philippines. He performed
a variety of machine shop duties. He worked for the Valley Iron
Works, Appleton, Nestles, Burlington, the Bowman Dairy and Dean
Foods at various plants for 34 years. On retirement Melvin and
Ione spent 14 years with friends and family in both Brooksville,
Fla., and Shawano.
He is survived by: his loving wife
of 62 years, Ione of Edgerton; his children, Kirk (Betsy) Kopitzke
of
Lexington, Ky., Darla (Gary) Goetzelman
of New Lenox, Ill. and Connie (Dan) Bussey of Edgerton; six grandchildren,
Kelly (Chris) Hood, Chris (Sara) Kopitzke both of Lexington,
Ky., Kari (Chris) Hedges of Mokena, Ill., Wendy (Doug) Hurst
of Elmhurst, Ill., and Jonathan and Kitri Bussey both of Edgerton;
eight great grandchildren, Wyatt, Zachary and Kelty Hood, Benjamin,
Ashley and Rebecca Hedges and Hudson and Cooper Hurst, numerous
nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by one brother,
Herbert Kopitzke.
Melvin was baptized in the Town
of Dupont by Rev. Imkie, confirmed on March 20, 1932, at Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Seymour, by the
Rev. Oldrogge.
A celebration of Melvin’s life
will be held on Friday, Oct. 6, at 1:30 p.m. at the Ehlert Funeral
Home of
Edgerton (St. Hwy 51 S) with the
Rev. James Johnson officiating. Burial will be in the Woodlawn
Cemetery, Shawano, at a later date. Relatives and friends will
gather at the funeral home on Friday from 12:30 p.m. until the
time of the services. 608-884-9466
In lieu of flowers a memorial fund
has been set up for the Hospice Care Inc. of 3001 W Memorial
Drive,
Janesville, WI 53548 in Melvin’s
memory.
[Source: Shawano Leader, Tuesday,
October 4, 2006]