Bruce A. Thiemke

ENDEAVOR  /  PORTAGE  --  Bruce A. Thiemke, age 72, of Endeavor, died on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at University Hospital in Madison following a five year battle with lymphoma.

Bruce was born on August 20, 1942 in Sparta, Wisconsin, the son of Arthur and Bernice (Prell) Thiemke, and was raised in rural Tomah. He was married on July 24, 1965 to Kathryn E. Berg; their 50th anniversary would have been this summer.  Bruce graduated with a B.S. degree in Agriculture from UW-River Falls. Since 1975, he has farmed in the Townships of Moundville and Douglas.

During his farming career, Bruce worked with everything from cranberries to corn, soybeans, and hay, and from pigs to sheep to beef cattle. He particularly loved driving tractors in the massive, flat fields of Nebraska during their five years there. Bruce’s wife Kathy brags about his skills in backing up tractors hooked up to multiple implements. He had an active custom hay baling business and loved to make deals buying and selling machinery. His favorite trips were to auctions and annual vacations to Door County with Kathy. Although naturally reserved, Bruce could talk for a long time about farming with anyone.

Bruce was passionate about farming, family, faith in God, and doing things right. He had a terrific work ethic and passed many great values on to his children and grandchildren. We loved hearing his tractor out in the fields and we loved hearing his laugh, whether at a joke, family inside story, or classic TV show. He will be missed.

He is survived by his wife, Kathy;  his children, Kristin (Christopher) Cushing and their children, Aaron and Adam, Palatine, IL, Daniel (Luciana) Thiemke and their children, Noah, Emma, and Hannah, Sun Prairie, Sue (Mike) Dettmann and their children, Drew, Alex, and Cole, Johnson Creek, and Steve (Jacque) Thiemke and their children, Max, Anna, Will, and Sam, Oshkosh; other extended family and many close friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Gerald George, and an infant son, Michael Jon.

Memorial services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 18, 2015 at Briggsville United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Julie Wilson officiating.  Inurnment will be private in Warren Mills Cemetery, Monroe County, Wisconsin. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. on Monday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established by the family.