Obituary: George J. Stigler

George J. Stigler, Sr., age 89, of Waukesha, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, May 2, 2012, at the Virginia Nursing Home with his family by his side.  He suffered a stroke at home on April 6.

He was born on May 14, 1922, in New Berlin, the son of the late Joseph A. and Florence M. (nee Small) Stigler, both of whom passed away in 1969. George attended Hunkins School in New Berlin and graduated from Waukesha High School in 1940. George entered the U.S. Army in 1942, proudly serving in the artillery and later the infantry in North Africa and Europe where he attained the rank of sergeant with the 314^th Infantry Regiment during World War II. He returned home from the army in Europe in the fall of 1945. In 1954-1955, he served as Commander of the Hoeppner-Horn Brothers VFW Post 5716 in New Berlin.

On Sept. 20, 1947, he was united in marriage with Caroline A. Schmuki at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Waukesha.  Together they had seven children: Kenneth, George Jr., John, Marilyn, William, Donald and Richard. George enjoyed his work as a tool-and-die maker and spent the last 20 years of his career employed at R.J. Zeman Tool & Die where he retired in 1989. Previously, he had worked at Milwaukee and Waukesha area manufacturers Allis-Chalmers, Hein Werner, Heil, AC Spark Plug, Amron and Dynex in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In his youth George enjoyed playing baseball in Calhoun, skating at Greenfield Park and sledding down the hill on the family farm. Later, he enjoyed building U-Control model airplanes in the basement with his young sons.  On weekends they would fly the planes at various locations around Waukesha  After his retirement, he spent his time planting flowers in the yard, travelling with family and watching the Milwaukee Brewers and Green Bay Packers.

George will be dearly missed by his wife, Caroline; his children, Kenneth (Pamela) Stigler, George Jr. (Peggy) Stigler, John (Prudence) Stigler, Marilyn (Mark) Kenyon, Donald (Carol) Stigler, Richard (Nadine) Stigler; his grandchildren, Daniel (Jessica Weidner), Brian (Rachel), Eric (Craig Lewandowski), Benjamin, Caitlin, Alison, Matthew, Rebecca, Katherine and Isaac Stigler, Amy (Tyler) Kurt and Jeffrey Kenyon; his great-grandchildren, Eva and Emery Stigler and Carter Kurt; his step-grandchildren, Melissa (Michael) Heerboth, Patrick McKenna and Meghan McKenna; and step-great-granddaughter, Penelope Heerboth. He is also survived by his sister, Eunice Reinders; and his sisters-in-law, Ann Brook, Ruth Stigler and June Schmuki. He was preceded in death by his parents; his son, William; his sisters, Lucille (Adolph) Skjerping and Alice (Fred) Oldenburg; his brother, Joseph P. Stigler; and his brother, Raymond Michael Stigler, who died at birth.

A visitation for George will be from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 6, 2012, at the Cesarz, Charapata & Zinnecker Funeral Home, 237 N. Moreland Blvd., Waukesha, WI 53188. A second visitation will be from 9 a.m. until the 10 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial on Monday, May 7, 2012, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 822 N. East Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186. The Rev. William Key will officiate the service. Burial and military honors will immediately follow at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Waukesha.

The family would like to thank Dr. Patrick Ginn and everyone at Waukesha Family Practice Center for their many years of compassionate care.  The family also wishes to express its deepest appreciation to Ann Brook for her time and effort supporting George during his final weeks.

Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter, 620 S. 76^th St., Ste. 160, Milwaukee, WI 53214, to the Association for the Rights of Citizens with Handicaps (ARCh), 419 Frederick St., Waukesha, WI 53186 or to a charity of your choice.

is serving the family.  For an online obituary or to leave a message of condolence, please visit http://www.WaukeshasFuneralHome.com, or call 262-542-6609.