West Bend, WI – Walter C. Wenzlaff of West Bend died on Sunday, January 8, 2023 at Kathy Hospice at the age of 95 years. He was born January 29, 1927, in West Bend to the late August and Christina (nee Boden) Wenzlaff.
On June 22, 1957, he was united in marriage to Gladys Hamm at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Slinger.
In 1953, he started working for West Bend Mutual Insurance Company. At first, he worked in the underwriting department. A short time later, he was asked to start their human resource department. At the time of his retirement in 1992, he was a human resource manager.
Throughout his life, he served on various committees and was a member of a number of area organizations. A few of the organizations include the West Bend Chapter #1398 Loyal Order Of Moose, serving as Governor, the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), being recognized as their Business Person of the Year in 1986, the Personnel Management Association, serving as president, among other professional organizations. Wally also volunteered with area organizations including Boy Scouts, the Threshold, St. Joseph’s Community Hospital and cancer drives.
He was a member of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Parish and Holy Angels Catholic Parish, serving as an usher and lector.
Over the years, he enjoyed traveling. Some of the locations he visited include Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, to name a few. He also loved spending time outdoors tending to his gardens, fishing with his brothers and later grandchildren, and golfing.
Above all else, he adored his family. His most proud title was that of “Grandpa.”
Survivors include his wife of 65 years Gladys; 3 children: Terry (Sandra) of Divide, CO, Thomas (Gail) of West Bend and Gail (Mike) Rogowski of Verona; 8 grandchildren: Elizabeth (Ben) Peyronnin and Matthew Wenzlaff, Scott, Jennifer and Ryan Wenzlaff and Jonathan, Kaitlyn and David Rogowski; 2 great-grandchildren: Ava and Walter Peyronnin; 1 brother Ralph Wenzlaff (friend Marlene Nagel) of Hartford; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Dolores Wolf of West Bend, William (Eva) Hamm of Slinger, Marlene (Don) Sarauer of Sun City, AZ, Lois (Roy) Lochen of West Bend, Rosemary (Dennis) Edwards of West Bend and Carol Hamm of Slinger; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by 8 brothers and sisters: Lucille (George) Scheer, Edward (Katherine), Syl (Margaret), Elmer (Grace), Leona Berndt, Werner (Loretta), Roman and Rita, 1 sister-in-law Rita Wenzlaff and 2 brothers-in-law Bernie Wolf and Marvin Hamm.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, January 13 at 5 p.m. at Holy Angels Catholic Church with burial Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in Holy Angels Cemetery. Visitation will be at church on Friday from 2:30 until 4:45 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials to Holy Angels School Trust Fund appreciated.
Wally’s family would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the staff of ComForCare, Horizon Home Care and Hospice and Kathy Hospice, and to Dr. Robert Gibson and Dr. David Lawrence for their care and compassion.
The Schmidt Funeral Home of West Bend is serving the family. Messages for the family may be left in an online guestbook at www.schmidtfuneralhome.com
