Donald Lester Radig

Donald Lester Radig, age 94, of Oshkosh passed away peacefully to join his wife Alice in their heavenly home on Saturday, September 9, 2017 at Lake Point Villa Assisted Living in Oshkosh, surrounded by his loving family. He was born at home in Oshkosh on August 2, 1923, the son of Albert and Frieda Radig. Following a one-room school education, he was the first in his family to graduate from Oshkosh High School. On December 9, 1944, he married the "love of his life," Alice Mae Carpenter, their marriage lasting 69 wonderful years until her death on September 18, 2013.

Don proudly served his country during World War II as a P-47 pilot in the Army Air Corps. In 2010 he was thrilled to participate on an Old Glory Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to visit the World War II Memorial.

He was a man who started his working life using a horse-drawn plow and lived to use cell phone technology. In his youth, he worked various farm jobs, his first job paying only 6 cents an hour for weeding farm fields. After high school, he worked in Rockford, Illinois at the Kennel Chow dog food factory and at the Axle and Diamond Match Factory in Oshkosh before entering the Army. Following his war service, he was a carpenter apprentice for 5 years, starting at 50 cents an hour, achieving his Journeyman's Carpenter certificate in 1950. Over his career, he worked for Leonard Martin Construction, Ganther Construction for 15 years, Haldon Corporation for 7 years and then as a skilled carpenter at UW-Oshkosh for 18 years before retiring in 1986. He also designed and built his own family home, a cabin in Conover, many tree houses for deer hunting, and helped his children with many home remodeling jobs. Don cared about the quality of his work; his kids would say that whatever he did, he did it right and well. He had a spirit of generosity, freely sharing and giving to others.

He was a member of Peace Lutheran Church, the Oshkosh Elks Club, and a charter member of the Algoma Volunteer Fire Department. He also served as Clerk of the Grange School Board and oversaw the construction of the new school building (now the Algoma Town Hall).

Don loved life and always kept busy, spending hours tending to his bountiful vegetable garden, always proud to be the first in the neighborhood with ripe tomatoes or sweet corn. For many years, he and Alice enjoyed attending auctions and finding used furniture and treasures that could be repaired and refurbished like "new" to then be resold at their popular annual yard sales. He always strived to arrive the earliest at auctions to get the #1 bidding card and usually came home with a full truck. A lifelong ice fisherman and hunter, Don went deer hunting every year until the age of 91 at his cabin--even able to climb a ladder to a 14 foot tree house at the age of 90. Many family summer vacations were also enjoyed "up north" at the cabin. After retirement his favorite hobby was spending hours daily in his workshop, expertly crafting hundreds of wood items both large and small to offer at his yard sales or as gifts for family--including birdhouses, birdfeeders, shelves, bookcases, bureaus, plant stands, end tables, roll top desks, toy chests and workbenches for his great-grandchildren, and his famous "3-piece chicken dinner" novelties. He and Alice were blessed to share many joyful years with their ever-growing family of great-grandchildren. He was also an avid sports fan, cheering on his Brewers, Bucks, Badgers, and Packers teams through good times and bad.

He is survived by his 5 children, Susan (Robert) Buckner, Bettye (William) Nimmer, Sally (Richard) Mackie, Thomas (Grace Ziegenhagen) and Janice (Michael) Anderson; 12 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and many relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and 10 siblings: Dorothy (Elmer) Tesch, Milton "Sam" (Kate) Radig, Esther (Ruben) Bathke, Linda (Harold) Schmiedel, Millie (Ralph) Hollub, Bernice "Niecy" (Richard) Macho, Ruth (Robert) Case, Orville "Mike" (Nina) Radig, Jack (Pat) Radig, and Winifred "Tootie" (Gene) Brewer.

Dear Dad, Grandpa, Great-Grandpa--you will be greatly missed.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 16, 2017 at Konrad-Behlman Funeral Home-Westside, 100 Lake Pointe Drive. Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 1:30 p.m. until the time of the service. Private interment services will be held on Monday, September 18 at Lake View Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established.

Don's family would like to express their heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Michael Duffy who tenderly cared for Don and Alice for many years, to the caring team members of Heartland Hospice, and to all the special caregivers at Lake Pointe Villa Assisted Living in Oshkosh (formerly Brookdale Oshkosh) for their tenderness and compassion over the past year of his life.