Anderson Funeral Home
Homeserving families for over 70 years
312 South Stone St.
Augusta, WI 54722
715-286-2222
Walter Webinger Jr
Long Time Farmer Lives and Dies
Walter George Webinger, 84, passed away on September 9, 2016 in Menomonie, WI in the township of Weston, at home under the care of his beloved family.
Walter George Webinger, Jr. was born May 28, 1932 to Walter George Webinger Sr. and Anna Emily Brummond Webinger in Minneapolis, MN. Walter was the oldest son, and 4th child of 10 children. He attended Warrington Grade School, Central High School and Vocational School in Minneapolis. Walter left high school to work at Ankney’s Pure Oil Service Station where he later started an engine rebuilding service with a fellow employee. He joined the Merchant Marine in 1949, serving with Ira Hayes, and then later joined the U.S. Air Force in Oct. 1950. He trained as a B-26 Mechanic in San Antonio, Texas and served in Korea from September, 1952 through October, 1953. He finished his 4-year duty at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. While in the Air Force he boxed for them as a welterweight. While scouting the boxers a boxing coach for Jersey Joe Walcott wanted to recruit him when his duty was over, but he was needed at home and logged for his parents instead. He then returned to Minneapolis and worked at Honeywell from November 1954 through November 1958.
In his youth he enjoyed fishing and gardening. At a young age he was ambitious, creative and entrepreneurial. He had a newspaper route by the age of 10, and as a young teen suggested home delivery of groceries which innovated the local grocery market. He loved working on vehicles; repairing, bodying and painting them. He enjoyed playing the accordion, as he loved music, especially polkas.
As a child, Walter spent all summer and school vacations in Fall Creek, WI at his grandmother’s and two uncle’s farms, where he developed a true love of farming and eventually would meet his wife of 60 years, Lucille Lola Dehnke. The couple were wed on June 30, 1956 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Fall Creek. They lived in St. Paul, MN until he purchased Lloyd Holten’s milk route in Menomonie in November of 1958, moving their mobile home onto Jack Joyce’s property across from the VFW club. In November of 1960 they moved to the Martin Walter’s farm in the township of Weston. They purchased the same farm from Clarence Werner in 1960. During his life on the farm, Walter raised seven children with his wife, Lucille with which he instilled an exceptional work ethic. Walter truly lived by the philosophy, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
In addition to farming, Walter worked construction from 1965 to 1984, primarily for P.V. Farmer Local Labor Union 139 of Eau Claire, and was employed during the expansion of Menomonie’s Stout University campus in the late 1960’s. He worked as back-up patrolman for the town of Weston from 1984 – 1986. Walter was a “jack of all trades,” and in 1988 he started his own trucking business, worked construction, logged and hauled compost. He continued until 2004 when he suffered a devastating hand injury.
Two major events in his life were the straight winds of 1980 which devastated the majority buildings on the Webinger farm and their house fire of 1986, which destroyed the entire home. In their retirement years Walt and Lucille split their time between their farm in Wisconsin and their ranch in Arizona and enjoyed traveling to visit family in California.
Walter is survived by his wife, Lucile, seven children, Kathleen Webinger, Suzanne Chacon, Diane Webinger, Alan Webinger (Monica), Jacqueline Egger (Mike), Teresa Jones (Kenton), Wayne Webinger, and six grandchildren.
He is further survived by five sisters, Vianna Hagen, Rita Schultz, Betty Yates-Evans, Helen Walters (Mike Lindbloom), and Sandra (Donald) Fredrickson, and three brothers, Lawrence (Janice) Webinger, Roger Webinger, and Robert (Stephanie) Webinger, sisters-in-law, Evelyn Kinderman, Doris (Ernest) Dehnke, Norma Dehnke, Virginia (Eugene) Jaenke, Janet Boyea and Debra Dehnke and brothers-in-law Duane (Dorothy) Dehnke and Vernon (Kathy) Dehnke, and Douglas (Karla) Dehnke, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Proceeded by fraternal and maternal grandparents, parents, Walter and Anna and sister, Lavaun Kondrak and brother's-in-law, Mark Hagen, Edward Schultz, Donald Kondrak, Theodore Yates, Donald Evans, Melvin Dehnke, Erwin Dehnke Jr., Duane Kinderman, Johnny Boyea and sister-in-law, Suzanne Webinger and both mother and father-in-law, Minnie and Erwin Dehnke.
In lieu of flowers the family would prefer memorials of your choice. The family would like to give a special thanks to the staff at Mayo Clinic and Hospice of Eau Claire, WI for their extraordinary care and compassion.
Friends and family are invited to partake in any or all of the grieving ceremonies.
A visitation will take place at Anderson Funeral Home in Augusta, on September 14th from 5-8pm. The funeral services will be held at Faith Lutheran Church in Menomonie on September 15th at 11am, with visitation one hour before service, and lunch following. Walter will be laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 16th.
