Obituaries

MIDDLETON - Myrna Gail (Buehrens) Hanson, age 82, of Middleton, WI, passed away of cancer on Oct. 3, 2019, at Agrace Hospice Care surrounded by family. Myrna was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, teacher and friend. Myrna was truly a loving and caring person who always had time to lend a compassionate ear and often put others’ needs ahead of her own. Loyalty, honesty and hard work were not just words to her; they were a code for living.

Myrna was born at Columbia Hospital in Milwaukee, to John Theodore Buehrens and Mildred Anna (Kleiler) Buehrens. Myrna was raised in Clintonville, and graduated from Clintonville High School with honors in 1955. While attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison, she was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She graduated in 1959 from the School of Education with a double major of English and French. She married US Navy veteran James Robert Hanson, her college sweetheart, on June 18, 1960.

MIDDLETON – Harvey W. Gudel, age 93, passed away at home on Sept. 16, 2019, from natural causes. He was born in Monroe, WI, on July 25, 1926, the son of Arnold and Martha Gudel. He was known and loved throughout the community as Harvey but to us he was Dad. 

Dad spent his childhood helping at the family cheese factory alongside his father and brother in Monroe. In 1935, the cheese factory moved to West Middleton, where he worked until he went to fight in World War II. After the war, he married his Middleton high school sweetheart, Marcella Maly on Sept. 11, 1946. They were married for 64 years until she passed away in 2010.

MIDDLETON–Neal W. “Starky” Starkweather, age 85, passed away on ‘Positive Thinking Day,’ Friday, September 13, 2019 following a brief illness. He was born in Madison, to the late Harold and Louella (Davis) Starkweather. He will be dearly missed by his loving wife of 52 years, Gladys “Boots” (Hermann).

A full obituary will follow. 

A celebration of life gathering will be held on Sept. 18, 2019 at the Cress Center, 6021 University Ave., Madison. The celebration will begin at 4 p.m. serving one of Neal’s favorite snacks, root beer floats! A time to pause and share memories will begin at 6 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be made to St. Mary’s Foundation, 700 S. Park St., Madison, WI 53715 or visit stmarysfoundation.org. The family will also be setting up a St. Mary’s Guardian Angel memorial in honor of some of the care staff who helped Neal and the family these last few weeks. 

MIDDLETON–Orville Eugene "Bud" Ladd, age 88, of Middleton, passed away on Sept. 8, 2019, at St. Mary's Hospital. He was born on Aug. 31, 1931, in Highland, WI, the son of Orville and Emma (Reed) Ladd.

Orville graduated from Highland High School in 1949. He proudly served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Alaska. He married Carol Webster on June 21, 1958, in Lone Rock, WI. Orville worked as a truck driver for Graber Spring for 27 years, retiring in 1996. He drove a school bus for Middleton-Cross Plains for more than 40 years and he volunteered for the Middleton Fire Department for 28 years. Orville and Carol were a part of Verona Squares for over 34 years. Orville was an active member of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. He enjoyed wood working, camping, playing cards, and watching sports, and he loved his dogs, going for coffee and enjoying breakfast.

MIDDLETON–Wayne P. Pferdehirt, age 67, of Middleton, passed away unexpectedly in Kings Canyon National Park CA on Aug. 26, 2019 during his life-long dream of hiking the John Muir Trail. Born on Aug. 3, 1952, in Pittsburgh, PA, he was the son of Harry “Bud” Pferdehirt and Anna Mae (Zimmer) Pferdehirt. He married his sweetheart, Diane H. Luchies, on April 26, 2014 in Holland, MI. 

MIDDLETON–Susan Phyllis Urban, 71, of Middleton, died at home on Aug. 17, 2019, after a brief illness. She was born March 12, 1948 in Watertown, the first child of Joseph and Sally (Linke) Urban. Susan grew up in Monroe, attending St. Victor Elementary School and graduating from Monroe High School in 1966.

She attended UW-Whitewater for elementary education and spent her entire career, nearly 50 years, teaching first and second grade at St. Michael School in Dane, now called Blessed Trinity. Susan’s Catholic faith was very important to her. She was a kind and generous person to her family, church and school. Susan taught generations of students in Dane, only recently retiring but wanting to still volunteer with students.

Susan was the ultimate recycler, repurposing cloth into quilts, dried flowers into new greeting cards, and everyday items into art projects for her students. In her younger years she enjoyed scouting, camping and Campus Crusade.

MIDDLETON–Lorraine Katherine "Babe" (Wehrle) Buchanan, age 95, passed away on Aug. 3, 2019, at Brookdale Century in Middleton. She was born on Aug. 23, 1923, in Madison, WI., the daughter of George Peter and Josephine Mary (Daniels) Wehrle. Lorraine grew up as a third generation Madisonian whose grandfather, John Peter Wehrle, immigrated in 1850 from Germany to Madison. On June 29, 1946, Lorraine married the love of her life, Winfield Buchanan. They were the first couple married at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, though, because there was only the school and no church at the time, the ceremony was at Blessed Sacrament Parish, their former parish. 

MIDDLETON–Dolores Marie Hines, age 94, of Middleton, passed away on July 29, 2019 at Stoughton Hospital. She was born on Aug. 25, 1924, in Detroit, MI, the daughter of Phillip “Teofil” and Maryanne (Oleski) Nawocki. Dolores graduated from Wayne State with a degree as a medical technologist.  She married Dr. Robert Hines, Sr., on Feb. 14, 1949. She was a very avid swimmer and swam in high school and college. After a short career in the medical field, she dedicated the remainder of her life to her role as a mother and to her family. Dolores was a very devout Christian, and family and faith were the two most important things to her. 

CROSS PLAINS–Kenneth Lawrence Saeman, age 96, of Cross Plains, passed away on Friday, July 19, 2019. He was born on Nov. 15, 1922, in Cross Plains, the son of John and Catherine (Kalscheur) Saeman. 

Ken graduated from Edgewood High School in 1940 and then attended UW-Madison studying electrical engineering before being drafted into the U.S. Army. He served in WWII from August of 1943 until April of 1946. Following the war, he bought into the family business, co-owning Saeman Lumber with Robert G. Saeman until retiring in 1986. Ken also was involved with the Cross Plains Fire Department from 1953 until 1983, serving as chief for 21 years from 1962 until 1983. He was a member of American Legion Post No. 245, Knights of Columbus and St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. 

MADISON/MIDDLETON–Donna Jean Parisi, age 89, passed away on July 9, 2019, at her Middleton home, surrounded by her loving family. She was born on June 29, 1930 in Madison, the daughter of Thomas and LaVerne (Peckham) Farris. 

Donna was a warm, compassionate, smart and strong woman who treasured her roles as mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife, sister-in-law, aunt, friend and Middleton good neighbor. She grew up in Madison and graduated from East High School. Donna married her beloved Joe Parisi on July 11, 1959, and they built their home on the street Joe managed to have named after her, Donna Drive.