Obituaries

MIDDLETON–Orrin Rongstad, 91, of Middleton, passed away on Aug. 4, 2022. He was born on April 22, 1931, in York, to Johnny and Cora Rongstad, the fourth of six children. Orrin graduated from Osseo High School as valedictorian in 1949 and then attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire until 1952, when he joined the US Air Force. He graduated from the Air Force Officers Candidate School in 1953 and was honorably discharged in 1957. Orrin then continued his studies at the University of Minnesota with a degree in Wildlife Management and furthered his education at the University of Wisconsin with a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology and Zoology in 1965.

PRAIRE DU SAC - Patrick Passini was a competitor.

The first born to Satimo and Mabel Passini, he set the example for his siblings, James, Michael, Timothy, and Kathleen to be loyal, hardworking, and a good teammate. Pat relished competition in all forms. He was a four-year letter winner with the Middleton High School Baseball team and shared his passion for the sport by coaching many young men on the Middleton Home Talent team whom he treated like sons, teaching them the fine points of the game, conducting Saturday night bed checks, and leading them to three Home Talent Championships. Pat was also a scratch bowler. He had multiple 700 series and a perfect 300 game.

MADISON–Mary Jane Maier, 85, of Madison, passed away on Aug. 3, 2022. She was born on July 30, 1937, in Wonewoc, the daughter of Gerald and Blanche (Hynek) Fike.

Mary Jane graduated from Sauk City in 1955. She went on to work for Dental Health from 1956-1960 then spent 1960-1978 as a mother raising her two sons. She returned to the workforce at the Veterans Hospital in Madison Canteen in 1979, retiring in 1990.

Mary Jane was a friend to many. She loved her time with her friends she met at Rosewood Senior Living, from her wine nights to her Badgers and Packers Parties she would take part in. Mary Jane loved helping setting up the Saturday Mass at Rosewood and decorating the community room. She could often be found in the community room at the puzzle table. Along with all this, Mary Jane’s greatest joy was her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

ARENA–Jason J. Sanftleben, 48, of Arena, passed away on July 23, 2022, after heart surgery complications at St. Mary’s and UW hospitals. He was surrounded by his family.

Jason was born to Jim and Debbie Sanftleben and grew up in the countryside of Cross Plains. He graduated from Middleton High School in 1992 then started a 30-year career in the elevator trade, first with Northwestern and ending with Schindler, recently taking a job with UW-Madison in elevator service and repair.

MIDDLETON–Alice Elizabeth (Ripp) Hanson, 86, of Middleton, passed away on July 21, 2022. She was born on Feb. 25,1936, to Martin and Clara (Acker) Ripp in Ashton. On June 21, 1958, she wed the love of her life, Lawrence Ivan Hanson. Together they raised five children.

Alice graduated from Middleton High School in 1954 and went on to earn her associate degree in teaching from UW-Platteville. This began a fulfilling and impactful 40-plus year career, 36 of which were at Elm Lawn Elementary in Middleton. While teaching full-time, she continued her own education and received both her bachelor’s degree from Edgewood College and her master’s degree from UW-Madison. She took pride in being a “bear” early each school year, but she knew she was helping her students learn respect for themselves and others as well as teaching them integrity and responsibility.

MADISON–Theodore J. “Ted” Reece, age 87, of Madison, passed away peacefully on June 28, 2022, at his home surrounded by family. He was born on March 18, 1935, in Marshalltown, IA, the son of Vaughn and Ruth (Carter) Reece.

Ted grew up in Union, IA. He graduated from Union-Whitten High School and continued his education at Ellsworth College in Iowa Falls, IA. Ted married Mary Ann Leuze on July 31, 1953, at The Little Brown Church in Nashua, IA. Together they raised three children, Pamela, Jeffrey, and Paula. Ted enlisted and served in the US Air Force from 1953 to 1957. After his military service, Ted owned and operated a local gas/service station in Union, until he was recruited to join the insurance industry. From that point on, he travelled throughout the Midwest and excelled in the insurance industry until his retirement.

FAIR OAKS, CA–Walter Stucki, 92, passed away at home on June 1, 2022, after a long illness with Parkinson’s disease. He was born near Barneveld to Alfred Stucki and Martha (Kung) Stucki on July 1, 1929.

Walter was a 1947 graduate of Middleton High School. On Oct. 17, 1953, he married Margaret Stampfli and had two children, Judy and Jim. He worked for the AB Dick Co. in Madison until he transferred with the company to their branch in Sacramento, CA, moving his family there in 1963. He retired from the AB Dick Co. in 1989 and enjoyed his retirement years traveling and working on home projects. He hated the snow and loved warm weather, so Hawaii was a favorite vacation destination. He also loved cruising to places like Alaska, the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal. After working at Zarndt’s Garage and Sub Zero in his youth, he could build or fix most anything, and enjoyed lots of home projects, large and small.

STOUGHTON–Timothy “Tim” C. Klongland, 73, passed away on June 14, 2022. He was born in Stoughton on May 18, 1949 to H. Owen and Jean Elizabeth (Anderson) Klongland.

He attended Stoughton schools and continued his education during a turbulent time at UW-Madison, and later graduated with a BA in Art.

In 1971, he married the former Karen Pohl, of Waukesha, who he met at the university. Tim was a successful buyer with Gimbels department store in Madison for many years before returning to the Stoughton area to become a real estate broker.

From the 1980s to early 1990s, Tim also ably served as the clerk of the Township of Dunkirk (in southeastern Dane County), and he was on the board of Middleton Insurance for many years.

MIDDLETON - Joyce Carol Blindauer, 93, of Middleton, passed away on June 10, 2022, surrounded by family. She was born on Dec. 24, 1928, in Iron Mountain, MI, the daughter of Guillamae and Harold Christian. In 1949, she met the love of her life, Donald J. Blindauer at her sister, Gloria’s wedding. They were married on May 19, 1951, at First Methodist Church in Green Bay and enjoyed 66 wonderful years together.

Upon graduation from Kingsford High School, Joyce moved to Green Bay and worked for the Veterans Administration and then became the private secretary to the president of Bay West Paper Company. After marriage, Joyce and Don moved to Madison where Don completed law school and Joyce worked for the Veterans Administration Hospital and then the Soil Conservation Service. She became a stay-at-home mom while her children were growing up after which she worked for Middleton Insurance Company and then became the secretary for Don’s law practice in Middleton until retirement.

CROSS PLAINS–Lynette “Lyn” Jane Passini, 73, of Cross Plains, passed away on April 27, 2022, after a courageous fight against lung cancer.

Lyn was born on July 6, 1948 at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison and grew up in Middleton. She was a 1966 graduate of Middleton High School where she was involved with Madrigal and Treble Clef singing groups.

Following high school, Lyn married James S. Passini of Middleton in April 1971, and attended UW-Madison. Shortly after college studies, she began employment at AnchorBank in Madison. While working there, a special group of co-workers created “the birthday club,” and for over 35 years they would have fun exploring towns in Wisconsin, traveling abroad, laughing and sharing memories. In 2014, Lyn retired from AnchorBank as Senior Vice President of Mortgage Lending after 43 years of service.