All Obituaries

John Cottrell Vignali was born on March 15, 1954.  He died peacefully at home on April 14, 2018 after a courageous battle with colon cancer.  John’s happiest times were spent in his cottage in the Northwoods of Wisconsin: feeding the deer, fishing and remodeling the cottage.  He enjoyed woodworking, watching documentaries and reading.  John worked at Orbitec in Madison for approximately 20 years as a manufacturing engineer and most recently as a plant...

Madison- Mary Lou (Matts) Jiru, age 89, passed away on April 12, 2018 surrounded by her family. She was born on October 27, 1928 in Madison, WI, to Leslie and Mary (Cunningham) Matts.  She attended St. Raphael’s grade school and graduated from Edgewood High School in 1946. She worked at Lafollette and Sinykin law firm as a legal secretary for 31 years. Upon her retirement in June of 1992 she enjoyed traveling, especially to the Western United States.  Mary...

DeForest – Carol J. Myhre, age 76, passed away on Thursday, April 12, 2018 at the University Hospital in Madison.  She was born on July 5, 1941 in Youngstown, OH, the daughter of William and Dorothy (Drummond) Owen. Carol was an artistic and loving person. She used her love of arts and crafts to brighten the lives of those around her, especially her 5 grandchildren, the joy of her life. She made every birthday and holiday special by making costumes, creating special cakes and...

Beloit/Verona – Matthew Ray Hansen, age 35, passed away on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at home, surrounded by family.  He was born June 27, 1982 in Beloit, Wis., the son of Richard and Mary (Richardson) Hansen.  He graduated from Beloit Memorial High School as valedictorian in 2000, and continued his education at Milwaukee School of Engineering, where he attained his software engineering degree in 2004.  Matt then went on to work at Epic Systems in Verona where he...

DEFOREST/WESTFIELD – Kathleen J “Kaye” Buchanan, age 90, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.  Kaye was born on August 8, 1927 in Merrimac, WI to James and Fern Fitzsimmons.  She grew up in the Merrimac area and graduated from Baraboo High School. Kaye married the love of her life, Loren “Buzz” Buchanan, on June 7, 1947.  She worked at Mendota Mental Health for many years as a medical record...

Gary Lee Babich, age 59, left his earthly body to eternally worship with Jesus, on April 11, 2018. Gary was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin on October 15, 1958. Gary lived with his biological family until the age of 6 when he moved to Central Colony.   As a young man with Down Syndrome, he moved from Central Colony into a number of family homes before settling into a group home run by Larry and Lois Gates. When...

Middleton/Verona - Marilyn E. Doerfer, age 69, died on Saturday, April 7, 2018, at Agrace HospiceCare.  She was born to Fredrick and Margaret (Blumke) Doerfer on January 20, 1949.  She attended Verona schools from kindergarten through high school, graduating in 1967.  She began her career at Cuna Mutual right after graduation in 1967, and worked there for 37 ½ years.  She continued her career working at Group Health Cooperative for 13 years until her...

Madison – Sara A. Wilhelm-Rhiel, age 76, passed away on Saturday, April 7, 2018 in Madison. She was born on September 30, 1941 in Plum City, WI, the daughter of George and Myrtle (Mattson) Rhiel.  Sara grew up in Elmwood, WI and graduated from Elmwood High School.  She graduated from UW-Stout, with a Home Economics Degree.  For most of her working career, Sara worked in sales. Sara showed kindness to all and would do anything she could to help loved ones in...

WAUNAKEE – Ruth D. Welch, born February 18, 1926, has closed her eyes here and opened her eyes in heaven, to be with her beloved husband Don (her eternal partner), with her devoted daughter Susan by her side. In her younger years, she worked for Mendota Mental Institute and Central Colony for about 7 years as a medical secretary, then stayed home to raise her beloved children, Michael and Susan, which she said “was a pleasure”. Ruth is survived by her son, Michael...

Madison - Kathryn M. Kibbe, age 59, passed away on April 6, 2018 at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. She was born April 2, 1959, the daughter of William R. and Patricia A. Borth, in Van Dyne WI. Kathy is survived by her father and step-mother, William and Dolores Borth of Fond du Lac; her daughters, Shequita Campbell of Madison and Sharice Gray of Manitowoc; and her grandsons, Navarrius, Elijah, Gary, and Noah Copeland. Kathy is further survived by her siblings, Steve...