Carol George Patefield

PORTAGE -- Carol George Patefield, 94, of Portage died peacefully on Sunday, November 7, 2021, from Covid.  

He was born on October 21, 1927, in Edgar, Wisconsin to George Washington Patefield and Clara Larsen Patefield. Carol, or ‘Pate’ as he was known by all, was the youngest of four children.  He grew up on a dairy farm in rural Edgar and later moved into town.

Pate graduated in 1944 from Edgar High School, where he played basketball (was nicknamed "the Edgar Flash") and baseball. He joined the Navy in early 1945 and was in an officer training program in Salt Lake City when WWII ended.  He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1949 with a degree in civil engineering.  He began a 34-year career with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and was actively and proudly involved in building the Interstate highway system in Wisconsin from its early beginnings.

On June 18, 1950, he married Patricia Whithorne Lovesy of Briggsville, whom he met while surveying for a new highway passing through the little town.  They have three children, George R Patefield, Julie Patefield Halvorsen, and Lisa C Patefield.  During the course of their 69 years together, Pat and Pate lived in Wisconsin Rapids, Madison, Poynette, Briggsville and Portage, making many friends wherever they went.

Pate was a member of the Freemasons for more than 65 years.  He was also a member of the Briggsville American Legion Post and was honored for his many contributions to the post.  For many years he was a member of the post's honor guard team for veterans’ funerals.  

When he retired in 1984, Pate took up woodworking with typical dedication.  For the next 34 years he made wonderful furniture, signs, and hundreds of useful and beautiful objects.  He also for many years cut, split, stacked and sold firewood, drafting his three children as assistants, who were at first reluctant but later all became enthusiasts themselves.  He taught them the value and satisfaction to be found in physical labor.  He was still making and selling firewood at the age of 86.

Pate also nurtured his children's love of horses and riding.  After riding as a child, he took up riding again in his 40s as he and his children began riding and horse showing.  He served as president of the Southern Wisconsin Timed Events Association in 1969. He and Pat raised Appaloosas on their farm in Poynette.  They also began raising sheep and in 1989 along with Pat was named Master Shepherd by the Wisconsin Central Sheep Producers.

Pate was an avid hunter and took several trips to the west to hunt antelope, mule deer, and pheasants.  He shared a hunting shack in northern Wisconsin with a group of friends, including Bob Luedke, his lifelong best buddy.  They enjoyed many years of deer and turkey hunting and lots of good times.

He tutored his children in math and reading, encouraged them in their education and careers, and instilled in all a strong work ethic, honesty, love of animals, sense of fairness, love of country, and volunteerism.  He delighted in being a grandfather to Zane and Katelin, relaxing into that role perhaps more easily than that of a young father.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Patricia Lovesy Patefield.  He is survived by children George R (Linda Allen) of Portage, Julie (Scott) Halvorsen of Aiken, SC, and Lisa (Holly Houston) of Fort Atkinson/Jefferson, grandchildren Zane Patefield Halvorsen (Robyn Collignon) and Kate Patefield Halvorsen Villiers (Dr Daniel P Villiers), and great-grandchildren Bryn, Wilder and Zara.    

Ashes will be interred at the Briggsville Protestant Cemetery at a later date, with military honors provided by Briggsville Veterans Honor Guard.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Three Lakes (WI) Dog Park or the Humane Society of Jefferson (WI).

The family would like to thank the staff at Our House in Portage for their care and support.

Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage is assisting the family. 

 

Let Evening Come

Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.

Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.

Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.

Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.

To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
Let evening come.

Let it come, as it will, and don't
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.

Jane Kenyon