Clarence Henry Mathe
Clarence Henry Mathe, 90, of Friendship, passed away February 9, 2014 at the VA Medical Center in Tomah. He was born December 6, 1923, in Wisconsin Rapids to Hans and Clara (Anderson) Mathe.
After spending most of his childhood in Dellwood, Clarence moved to Highland Park, Illinois. He was drafted in the US Army during World War II and served in the 106th Lion Division as Ammunition Sergeant during the Battle of the Bulge. He also completed the Division Athletic Instructor Program at Heidelburg University in Germany. He was discharged in 1945 and returned to Illinois to start his 58 year career as a General Contractor. Clarence married Lucille Mikoda on November 25, 1954 in Dubuque, Iowa. In 1958, he and Lucille moved to Quincy where he continued to design and build many fine homes in the area and several motels in Wisconsin Dells.
In 1967, Clarence and Lucille opened the Hiawatha Resort at Castle Rock Lake, which they proudly owned and operated for 35 years. Clarence was a charter member of the Castle Rock Lions Club and served as the Quincy Town Chairman. He was a member of VFW Post 6279 and the American Legion. He was President of the Roche a Cri Little League and was instrumental in the development of Burt Morris Park. In 2013, Clarence was proud and honored to be the recipient of the AF High School Green and White award. He was always willing to volunteer his time and many talents.
Clarence was a sports enthusiast and enjoyed hunting, fishing and the great outdoors. He also was a creative and accomplished woodworker. Most of all, he was a loving husband, a great dad and a special grandpa.
Clarence was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Harold, Edmund and Robert.
He is survived by his wife, Lucille; children: son, Howard (Donna) Mathe of Baraboo, Wisconsin; daughter, Connie (Michael) Hepfinger of Basalt, Colorado; daughter, Carol (Phil) Nemiec of Basalt, Colorado; son, Curtis (Dawn) Mathe of Adams, Wisconsin; step-son, Mark Pollock of Baraboo, Wisconsin; step-daughter, Marcia (Robert) Wysocky of Winneconne, Wisconsin; as well as 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Lorraine Adkins of Florida.
A celebration of Clarence’s life will be held at a later date. Interment will be at Quincy Cemetery with full military honors. Roseberry’s Funeral Home is assisting the family.
You have my sympathy. My prayers and thoughts are with you. May God grant you peace.
Dear Curt & Dawn
Thinking of you at this sad time. So sorry for your loss.
So sorry for your family loss. My prayers and thoughts are with you.
Curt and Dawn,
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Where there is an empty spot in your heart, I hope you fill it with wonderful memories.
My heartfelt condolences to you Curt and the entire family. I fondly remember your dad at all of your sports events, a totally dedicated sports enthusiast and dad and a member of the Greatest Generation of WWII vets in the Battle of the Bulge! Quite a heroic guy. All the best to you and your family.
My sympathies go to Marcia and her family. I felt very priviledged to meet your Dad. It is a sad time for you and your family to lose such a wonderful man. He is with God and he is no longer sick. God will take care of him now. Love ya Marcia.
We send heartfelt condolences to the family of Clarence Mathe. Growing up with Curt, i had the opportunity to visit the Mathe household at the lake. Clarence and Lu always guided and cared for the baseball boys. Never a stern word, even when we were banging wiffle balls off the green machine. Clarence was one of my mentors. I learned to do things the right way, because that was the only way when Clarence was near. He was supportive, energetic, hard working, and always made time to drive us in that van. Thanks Clarence! Save me a seat at the ballgame!
Curt and Dawn,
So sorry to hear of your dad’s passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.
Our sympathy to the family. Remember the good times. Nice man thoughtful person.
Mark , Marcia ,Howard and family .Sorry to hear of Clarence’s passing . He will be remembered and missed by all very much.
Marcia and all the family…..Ours thoughts and prayers are with you all at this sad time. Clarence was a friend to all and everyone who knew him will miss him. If there is anything we can do…….please call.
My condolences go out to the entire Mathe family. Clarence was a hard working man who raised all very well respected children. He helped make our neighborhood a place where you wanted to be. Curt. especially, I’m sorry for your loss. Its wonderful he was able to pass on his carpentry skills to you. God Bless to you all. Love and prayers, Cora
We are saddened to hear of Clarence’s passing…Will always be grateful that he built our houses and allowed us the “hands-on”experience of helping. Our hearts go out to you all who were so close and so helpful to him these past several years.
My condolences to the Mathe family. I have very fond memories of Clarence driving the (baseball )van around to all the parks and cheering us on. He always had a way of lightening up the moment wherever we went. He was so dedicated to the youth of the community and was always there to lend a helping hand. Clarence (Chuck) you will always be in my memories thanks and God bless.RIP
Lu and family. so very sorry for your loss. we had some great times with chuck. when i was a kid and we were around your place he was just like all of us. we had fun going snowmobiling and just being together. it was always an adventure when he was involved. hold each other close and his memories closer. he touched many lives and will be missed.
long live the memories of the big chucker
My thoughts and prayers go out to Connie and Carol and the rest of the Mathe family. This is a difficult time for you all, keep in mind your father is now at peace and is in the best of care. Heaven is our final destination, he has arrived, trust in that,
all pain and suffing from this life is gone. Let that be enough to comfort and console you, be at peace. I send my love and huge hugs to each of you.
Our prayers go out to Lu, Mark, Marcia, Curt, and Connie,
I was lucky enough to go to school with most of you at Castle Rock and AF High. We played softball against our Dads at Castle Rock one evening and Clarence was as excited as us kids were, what good times. Being friends with you all, it was plain to see what a great loving family you were all apart of, it made you good friends, classmates, and team mates in sports. Clarence and Lu made no bones about it, their famlily was very special, and it showed. You’ve got a life full of great memories that you can pass on to the next generation. It was great that Clarence got the achievement award last fall, so deserving, can’t wait to read Marcia’s book, Clarence kind of did it all, a very special person. My Dad and myself got ot work on quite a few jobs with Clarence and Curt, it was a pleasure and always entertaining with all the stories and such, I know my Dad has a new basement for Clarence to start building on with many more stories to come. Thanks for the memories, our thoughts and prayers are with you all, Dennis and Judy Allen
We send our sympathies to Lu and all the family — you’re in our thoughts and prayers. — M & J
Growing up in Quincy has many fond memories. Going to Clarence & Lu’s home is certainly one of them, whether I was visiting Mark or Marcia or just taking a walk to the park and stopped by on my own — they always welcomed us “neighborhood” kids. Clarence had many interesting stories of growing up as well as his life experiences that I enjoyed listening to — so glad Marcia wrote an outstanding book about some of them. His carpentry expertise was second to none — that quality and his hard work served as a positive role model to us as well as the next generation, too. He deserved the long, happy life he had. Peace to the family as he’ll very much be missed — Marti