PORTAGE - Jon W. Kuse, 60, suffered a heart attack and died unexpectedly Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, in Ladysmith.
He was born Sept. 8, 1949, in Medford, to Grace and Warren Kuse. He graduated from Medford Senior High School in June 1968 and attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, enlisting in the U.S. Army in March 1969. He completed training in the Special Forces as a Green Beret, and served two tours in Vietnam. He returned home and married Judith Keefe in Medford on June 24, 1972. They made their home in Portage, and Jon attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated with a bachelor of business administration degree in December 1976. Together, they had two children, Ben (Helena) and Ted. Jon treasured his family. He was a man of many interests who lived life with passion. He loved the great outdoors - hunting with the Curran Crew, fishing in Hayward and Canada, and golfing, riding the Harley, kayaking and traveling with Judy, family and friends. His entire career was spent in the plastics manufacturing field, and he had worked for Penda Corp., Trienda Corp., Klack Corp., General Polymers, and at the time of his death for Total Petrochemicals. He was a member of Portage United Methodist Church, Friends of the Public Library and Friends of the Portage Center for the Arts, and had served on the Portage Fire Department, the Portage Chamber of Commerce Executive Board, the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Madison Area Technical College Advisory Board for Fire Science. He was a past member of Portage Country Club and Portage Curling Club.
Jon is survived by his wife, Judy; his children, Ben (Helena) and Ted; his sisters, Sandra Skach and Kristin Kuse, both of St. Paul, Minn.; his brother, Bill (Patsy) Kuse of Green Bay; his mother-in-law, Melva Keefe; his sister-in-law, Sue (Dean) Emmerich; his brother-in-law, Robert (Laurie) Keefe of Medford; his sister-in-law, Kate Clanton of Marshfield; his brother-in-law, Pat (Michelle) Keefe of Wausau; and 26 nieces and nephews.
The celebration of Jon's life will include visitation from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home, with a time for sharing remembrances from 7 to 8 p.m., and funeral services with military rites at 11 a.m. Friday at Portage United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Jon W. Kuse Memorial Scholarship fund established by Jon's family at Portage National Bank, to support students who pursue careers in fire science, or to the Portage Public Library.
As one dear friend said, "He's irreplaceable." His big personality allowed him to go where angels fear to tread, and now he is among them.
Posted in Obituaries on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 11:45 pm
