Tamara L. Radtke

PORTAGE – Tamara L. Radtke, age 51, of Caledonia Township, passed away on Thursday, June 27, 2013.

Tamara was born October 6, 1961 to Warren and Audrey (Anderson) Radtke and was raised in Brown Deer, Wisconsin. She graduated from Brown Deer High School, and received a B.S. in elementary education from UW-Madison in 1985.  She earned an M.S. degree from UW-Milwaukee in 1994 and an M.S. from UW-Madison in 2006. Tamara was also a member of the U.S.  Army Reserve from 1981 to 1991, (Captain, 84th Division, Commander, 1st Brigade). She married Phillip Due July 12, 1995 in Niagara Falls, Canada.  Tamara was the proud and loving mother of daughters Samantha and Natasha.

She was an elementary education teacher in the West-Allis-West Milwaukee School District from 1986-2004. She moved with her family to Caledonia Township in Columbia County, WI in 2004 and taught in the Portage Community Schools since 2006. She taught at Caledonia and Rusch Elementary and most recently enjoyed being the 3rd grade teacher at Endeavor Elementary. Tamara was passionate about her role as teacher and received great joy from the many students she instructed. She loved to travel and was privileged to visit all 50 states.  She was an avid reader, enjoyed watching classic movies, and liked downhill skiing.

Tamara is survived by husband Phil Due, and daughters Samantha and Natasha (Caledonia Township); brother, Michael (Lisa)Radtke (Wauwatosa, WI), sister, Sharon (Robb) Roloff (Tipton, IN); nieces and nephews,  Jennifer, Kaitlyn, Madison, Andrew, Alex, Jack  and her in-laws Robert and Carol Due (Waterford, WI); other relatives and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents.

A memorial gathering will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to River Haven Homeless Shelter.