David L. Jenkins

PORTAGE – David L. Jenkins, age 80, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at his residence in Portage, WI.

David (Dave) was born on February 9, 1943, in Madison, the son of Roger and Dorothy (Cuff) Jenkins. He grew up in Portage, spending time with friends exploring the river and canal. In high school he participated in track and curling, winning awards in both - depending on the fact checker. After a bachelors’ degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Dave spent three years in Army Intelligence stationed in Frankfurt, Germany before an honorable discharge in 1969.

Looking for a way to “be his own boss," Dave enrolled in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School and graduated in 1972. Following a stint practicing law in Hillsboro, Dave and law partner Philip Stittleburg started the Jenkins & Stitleburg law practice in 1977 in Viroqua and LaFarge, WI. He, and then wife Kristine, moved to Viroqua and over the following 40+ years he practiced law and raised a family. Dave spent years as the head of the Child Support Agency in Viroqua and City Attorney for Readstown, Ontario, and Viroqua. Dave often remarked that he had never worked a day in his life, so much did he enjoy practicing law, and he considered many of his clients personal friends.

Dave was a great lover of games and cards, and whiled away many hours with family and friends playing or kibitzing with a deck of cards. He was an unapologetic cheater at solitaire and proclaimed to have never lost. Always a student of literature, Dave spent much time reading history, biographies, and Shakespeare; the latter of which he loved to recite in public given any opportunity, completely disregarding the embarrassment it would strike in his children. He was quietly generous, and would help anyone who walked through his door.

Dad is remembered by his children as being a curious and observant student of this world. His adventures with them, whether it was sailing in a boat that would often sink, biking far too far for children without packing food, traveling (with a map, but more often than not lost), or playing baseball well into the night, showed that the small things can be grand, and a proper amount of tragedy is often the best part of the story. He brought joy to many aspects of life.

He asked the following to be included in his obituary, provided we spot check his recitation:

To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd
         William Shakespeare, Hamlet

He is survived by his former wife and friend Kristine (Kettunen), his children, Siiri (Michael) Forbes, Alison (Paul) Ryan, Jonathon (Ginny) Jenkins and Philip (Maggie) Jenkins; five grandchildren, Lilyian, Sasha, Carmen, Samantha and Juliet;  his siblings, Carolyn (Keith Markham), Barbara (Harry) Stathas and Robert (Pamela) Jenkins;  other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Richard. 

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

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