Tomah Journal - Obituaries

Robert D. Hendricks, Lloyd A. Oakes, Marty Riggs, Robert Sonnenburg

Robert D. Hendricks

Robert D. “R.D.” Hendricks, 82, of Evergreen, CO, died Feb. 27, 2008, in Evergreen.

He was born April 16, 1925, in Newark, OH, to James Carter Hendricks and Thressa Pratt Hendricks. He graduated from Granville High School in 1943. He married Margaret J. (Peg) Snyder on Dec. 26, 1948, in Groveport, OH. She preceded him in death in February 2002.

R.D. Hendricks was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy Seabees as a Petty Officer 2nd class. He was stationed first in Europe, arriving in France shortly after D-Day, and was transferred to the Pacific theater after the liberation of France. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the Ohio State University in 1950.

Except for a short time in retail and manufacturing, he was a career accountant in the public sector beginning with the Department of Defense in Columbus, OH, and Keflavik, Iceland. The remainder of his career was with the Department of the Army at Fort McCoy in Tomah, WI, Fort Monroe, VA, and Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Aurora, CO, until his retirement in 1985.

R.D. Hendricks lived in the Newark-Granville, OH, area 1925-1943; served in the U.S. Navy 1943-1946; lived in Columbus, OH, 1946-1965 and 1966-1970; Keflavik, Iceland 1965-1966; Tomah, WI, 1970-1977; Hampton, VA, 1978; Aurora, CO, 1979-1985; Loveland, CO, 1985-1998; and Littleton, CO, 1998-2006. He spent the last two years as a resident of Elk Run Assisted Living and Life Care Center, both of Evergreen, CO.

“Papa D” was a much-loved father and grandfather. He was an avid golfer, enjoyed fishing and metal detecting, and was a member of Abiding Hope Lutheran Church in Littleton, CO.

R.D. Hendricks is survived by his two daughters, Kathryn C. Kiefer of Sparta, WI, and Linda K. Bumgardner and husband John of Golden, CO; son Shane O. Hendricks and wife Beth of Houston, TX; five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, brothers Harold Hendricks and Carl Hendricks, and a granddaughter, Danielle Georgeson.

Cremation will be conducted.

Memorial contributions can be made to the All Ohio State Youth Choir, 550 Cambridge Rd., Coshocton, OH 43812.

Lloyd A. Oakes

Lloyd Allen Oakes, 74, of Warrens, went home to Glory on March 10, 2008. He was born Feb. 21, 1934, to Glen and Rose (Jones) Oakes in Steuben, WI. He graduated from Tomah High School in 1952, and served in the United States Air Force from 1952 to 1956. He later attended and graduated from the pastoral program at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL, in 1972. He served as an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Kewanee, IL, for a short time and later established a Christian Center in Kewanee where he served from 1974-1976.

He was united in marriage to Marjorie Powers on June 3, 1961, in Rockford, IL.

He helped establish the Living Stones Fellowship in Warrens in 1981 and was a pastor there since that time. Throughout his lifetime, Lloyd sang in many gospel groups, including the Dads and Daughters quartet.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie; three children, Kristine Oakes of Warrens, Darin (Tiffany) Oakes of Warrens and Kathryn (Brant) Grasty of Truro, IA; four grandchildren, Timothy and Jessica Oakes and Kael and Haedyn Grasty; two brothers, Ken Oakes of Lillian, AL, and David (Dottie) Oakes of Warrens; three sisters, Glenda (Ken) Jensen of Machesney Park, IL, Gale (Lloyd) Sutherland of Warrens and Judy (Jim) Embertson of Rockford, IL.; two sisters-in-law, Eunice (Paul) Anderson and Ruth (Fred) Menz. He is also survived by eight aunts, two uncles, 22 nieces and nephews and their families, cousins, and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his in-laws, Maurice and Elsie Powers; a sister-in-law, Ruth Oakes, and 13 aunts and uncles.

His great love was his God, his family, and his church. He loved family reunions, good food, lots of gospel singing and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. His deep desire was to bring others to Christ and share His love. He will be greatly missed by all.

A memorial service will be held at the Living Stones Fellowship on April 5, 2008, at 1 p.m. The Torkelson Funeral Home of Tomah is assisting the family with arrangements.

Online condolences are available at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.

Marty Riggs

Marty Riggs, 94, of Kendall, died Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tomah. He was born June 18, 1913, in Miles City, Custer County, MT, the fifth child of Frank and Bertha (Burris) Riggs. Marty’s father was a horse trader and rancher, which is probably where Marty got one of his favorite sayings: “Everything is for sale if the price is right.”

He had memories of the rattlesnakes his older brothers and sisters would bring in from the range. Before Marty started school in 1916, the family moved back to Wisconsin, living in Fredrick for a short while and then in Patch Grove. Their farm was on Camel Ridge. The children went to school there, walking three miles to the school, uphill all the way. He went to school in Bridgeport until he got tired of it and partly because he hated history. In 1929 the family moved to Camp Douglas, where he purchased a farm for $1,200. Marty was always a horse lover and had a horse at an early age. He worked a variety of odd jobs, trapped mink and muskrats and fished on the Lemonweir River behind their home. He later went to Racine and worked as a plumbers assistant. On May 19, 1943, he enlisted in the Army, 7th Cavalry Troop A. After finishing basic training in Texas, he came home on leave and on Oct. 18, 1943, he married Ruth (Bruder) Batten at Lone Rock Baptist Church and then became the father of three daughters. He served in Archipelago, Southern Philippines, Luzon and New Guinea. When he was discharged, he went to work as a plumbers assistant at the VA Medical Center in Tomah. In 1952 he transferred to Chicago’s South Side VA Hospital, where he retired. He and Ruth moved to their farm in Oakdale.

He had several horses including a driving team and wagon. He drove them in parades with his grandaughter, Kathy. He went to auctions and enjoyed his John Deere tractors. Ruth passed away in 1988. Marty married Donna Ireland; they were only married a year before they parted as friends and still correspond. Later he had a special friend, Muriel West, whose company he shared for a few years before she died of cancer. He later he moved to Kendall. Marty liked traveling. He made some trips to Montana to see the area where he was born and did some circle trips to the Northwest. He also made trips to Alaska, the first with his friend Ed Noth. Moving to Kendall was a great move. It wasn’t long before he was unable to drive because of macular degeneration. All the people there watched over him, his neighbors and friends at the Coop, enabling him to remain in his home much longer than he would have been able to anywhere else.

He is survived by two step-daughters, Lois (Bob) Hascek and Phyllis (Martin) Snider, both of Tomah; 10 grandchildren, Steve (Sue) Snider of Cave Creek, AZ, Kay Mark of Oshkosh, Lynn (Brian) Abel of Virginia, Karen Snider, (Jim Brady) of Madison, Charles (Brenda) Snider of Fond du Lac, Kathy Herziger of Sheboygan Falls, Tammy Hascek of Illinois, Sandra (Darren) Hartman of Chippewa Falls, Kim Jost of Waterford and Curt (Mandy) Snider of Milwaukee; 12 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, Bruce (Betty) Riggs of Oakdale, Tim (Karen) Riggs of Tomah, Alice (LaVerne) Hageman of Iowa, Nancy (Jeff) Kowitz of Sparta and Dale Riggs of Menomonee Falls.

Marty was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Ruth; two sisters, Maxine and Gladys; three brothers, Darrel, Ardith and John, and his step-daughter, Helen Johnson.

Funeral services will be held Monday, March 17, at 10 a.m. at the Sonnenburg Family Funeral Home, 801 E. Monowau St., Tomah. Burial will be in the Oakdale Cemetery with military honors by Curtiss-McNutt VFW Post #1382.

Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Sunday from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. and on Monday from 9:30 a.m. until time of the service.

Robert E. Sonnenburg

Robert Elmer Sonnenburg Sr., 59, of Tomah, WI, died March 10, 2008, at his home, surrounded by his loving family. He was born March 10, 1949, to Elmer and Ruth (Ludeking) Sonnenburg at Sparta. He was baptized March 27, 1949, and confirmed May 5, 1963, at St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church. He attended St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran School and was a member of the Tomah High School graduating class of 1967. He was united in marriage to Rosemary Mannion at St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church on Nov. 27, 1971, by Pastor O.W. Heier. She preceded him in death Sept. 26, 2002. He worked for the Milwaukee Railroad before deciding to attend Mortuary Science School. He moved his family to Villa Park, IL, where he worked as a janitor at St. Paul Lutheran Church and attended the Worsham College of Mortuary Science. He graduated from Worsham College of Mortuary Science Sept. 5, 1978. He first worked for the Ahlgrim Funeral Home in Palatine, IL. He then moved to Milwaukee to work for the Franzen-Jung-Kaufmann-Weiand Funeral Home. From there they moved to Elroy, where he worked for the Zenner Funeral Home. He moved his family back to Tomah and took over the CBRF for Veterans that his parents started, and also was working as an over the road salesman for the Champion Company. In 1986 he, his father, a couple brothers-in-law and a few friends started construction on the Sonnenburg Family Funeral Home. It opened in 1987, and for the last 21 years he had been the owner and operator. He was united in marriage to Brenda Chapman on Aug. 16, 2003, at St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church by Pastor Donald R. Buch, and proceeded to dance through life. They taught ballroom dance class together at the Marilyn School of Dance in Tomah. He was a member of USADance, Continental Dance Club, River City Ballroom Club and the Senate Dance Club.

A faithful lifetime member of St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church, he served on the church council and was past president of the congregation. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran and served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War. He was a member of Grassman-Sowle-Larsen-Senz American Legion Post #201, Curtiss-McNutt VFW Post #1382, and the La Societe’Des 40 Hommes Et 8 Voiture 804. He was a member of the Tomah Lions Club. He enjoyed hunting, especially the elk hunting trips to Colorado. Most important to him were his wife and family. He was an especially proud “papa,” a devoted husband, a loving father, brother, and uncle.

He is survived by his loving wife Brenda of Tomah; six children, Dr. Robert (Patricia Lynn) Sonnenburg of Peshtigo, Patricia Grace (William) Mills of La Crosse, Joshua Sonnenburg of Tomah, Rebecca Sonnenburg of La Crosse, Ethan and Andrew Chapman of Milwaukee; four fabulous grandchildren, Maxwell, Emma Rose, Clare Eleanore and Sophia Grace Sonnenburg, all of Peshtigo; six sisters, Dorla (Miles) Guthrie of Tomah, Betty Jean Phillips of Hartford, Carolyn (Rick) Abel of Sullivan, Lonna Mae Gamerdinger and Patricia Ann (Patrick) Graham, all of Tomah, and Merece (Thomas) Mueller of Milwaukee; an uncle, Kenneth (Donna) Ludeking of Middleton; a sister-in-law, Angie (Gary) Moseley of Tomah, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

In addition to his first wife Rosemary, he was preceded in death by his parents Elmer and Ruth, an infant sister Grace, an infant bother Mark, four aunts Bernice Deitelhoff, Irma Krause, Helen Peth and Lucille Betcher, and uncle Marvin Sonnenburg.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 15, at 11 a.m at St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church, Tomah.

Pastor Donald R. Buch and Curt S. Backhaus will officiate. Burial will be in St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery in Wilton with military honors by the Grassman-Sowle-Larsen-Senz American Legion Post 201. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the Sonnenburg Family Funeral Home on Friday from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. and Saturday at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of service. The family requests memorials be given to the church of your faith or to The Hospice Touch, c/o Tomah Memorial Hospital, 321 Butts Ave., Tomah, WI 54660.