Julius R. Waldenberger

Julius "Juke" R. Waldenberger, 85, of Chaseburg, WI, retired dairy farmer, died peacefully at 3 pm on January 3, 2014 at the Bland Bekkedal Hospice Center, surrounded by his loving and supportive family.

He was born on December 31, 1928 to Louis and Anna (Reuter) Waldenberger. In seventh grade, he earned the nickname 'Juke' from a teacher that couldn't pronounce Julius. He graduated from Holmen High School and later Milwaukee Technical College for Diesel Mechanics. Juke served in the Korean War before buying a farm near Chaseburg in 1957. He was an active member of the Chaseburg American Legion Post #202 and the Coon Creek VFW Post #10532. He married Sandy Spurbeck on April 26, 1962, in Faribault MN. Together they raised 11 children.

While not busy milking cows or selling seed corn, he escaped to places like Alaska, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary and Germany. In retirement, he hunted moose & bear, salmon fished, chauffeured his Amish neighbors, played euchre and ended the day sitting by the fire. His love of travel never ended, in his bag, a new passport intended for his next travel goal: Australia.

Juke is survived by his wife Sandy of 51 years, and 11 children: Karen (Doug) Darling, New Albin, IA; Carol (Dennis) Kraabel, Westby, WI; Deborah, Scottsdale, AZ; Kenneth (Heidi), Spring Grove, MN; Michael (Lisa), Viroqua, WI; Cindy (Tony) Roberts, West Salem, WI; June (Nick Bederski), Sydney, Australia; Linda (Boris Gaedtke), Scottsdale, AZ; George, Orlando, FL; Julie, Madison, WI; and Emily, Scottsdale, AZ; and by 15 grandchildren: Kimberly, Denise, Ryan, Michael, Jack, Aidan, Kendra, Garrett, Chelsea, Natalie, Briana, Kendra, Abbie, Max and Liam.

A visitation will be held from 3-7 p.m. on Thursday January 9, 2014 at the Seland Funeral Home in Coon Valley. Online condolences may be offered at selandsfuneralhome.com. The family would like to thank the nurses at the Bland Bekkedal Hospice Center and Emma Banwart, RN of Mayo Clinic for their excellent care.