Toni R. Hatch

PORTAGE  --  Toni R. Hatch, age 83, passed away on Monday, September 17, 2018, at his home in Saddle Ridge.

Toni was born on September 15, 1935 in Lancaster, the son of Stanley and Helen (Goebel) Hatch.  He attended Lancaster Grade School and Lancaster High School, graduating with the Class of 1953.  Toni lettered three years in football, four years in basketball and four years in track.  He held the record for the Southwestern Athletic League in the 70 yard high hurdles at 8.5 seconds for a number of years.  He was the lead in the senior class play.  Toni attended the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa from 1953 to 1957, on a football scholarship, where he played end on offense and defense.  He was a member of the 1956 Big Ten Champs and 1957 Rose Bowl Champs.  He was also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.  He graduated with a Bachelors of Science Commerce in June of 1957, and received an ROTC Second Lieutenant Commission at graduation.  On September 20, 1957, he was married to Anita Joan Becker at the Stitzer Methodist Church.   He worked for Hallmark Cards, Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri as a salesman from August 1957 through April 1958.  Toni attended the U.S. Air Force Navigation School from May 1958 to February 1959 at Waco, Texas, and Radar Observer School from February 1959 until September 1960, also at Waco, Texas.  He was assigned to the 62nd Fighter Squadron from September 1955 through September 1960, in the back seat of a 101B Fighter International.  After separation from the Air Force, Toni joined the Wisconsin National Guard from December 1965 to April 1968, where he flew an F89-G, and left as a Captain.  After active duty Air Force, in 1960, he worked four years for McNeil Labs of Fort Washington, PA, in the Madison, WI area.  From April 1964 to April 1968, Toni was in sales for Alpha Portland Cement, Madison, WI.  In April 1968 through June 1976, he was in sales for Kewaunee Manufacturing, Kewaunee, Illinois.  In June of 1976, he bought the warehouse business of Castle and Doyle in Madison, and changed the name to Hatch Building Supply Co., Inc.  He sold the business to his son, Robert Hatch, in July of 1996, and retired from the business in June of 1998.  Toni was a member of Sun Prairie Methodist Church from 1963 to 1997, where he was on the Administrative Board for four years.  He lived in Sun Prairie from 1963 to 1997, and moved to Saddle Ridge on Swan Lake, near Portage, WI.  Toni was a member of the Sun Prairie Lions Club for 32 years, the Elks Club of Madison and Portage for 25 years, the Portage United Methodist Church, on the Administrative Board for 10 years, and the National Iowa Letterman’s Club since 1957.  He was an Iowa Football season ticket holder for 45 years.  Toni loved all sports, hunting, fishing, reading and spending time with his grandkids (watching them play sports and teaching them how to fish).  In retirement he enjoyed trips to Florida with his wife, Anita.

He is survived by his children, Randall K. Hatch of Belgrade, MT, Kimberly A. (Daniel) Ault of Inverness, IL, Kelly J. (David) Endres of Marshall, WI, and Robert D. Hatch of Lodi; his grandchildren, Kelsey Ault, Hannah Endres, Grace Endres, Robby Hatch, and Nellie Hatch; his brother, James Hatch, Madison; his sister, Diane Ertz, Madison; many nieces and nephews, other relatives and close friends.  Toni was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Anita on September 17, 2015, and his brother, David Hatch.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 23, 2018 at Portage United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Tom Countryman officiating.  Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery with military honors by the Portage Area Veterans Honor Guard.  Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 22, 2018 at the Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage and at the church on Sunday from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Portage United Methodist Church Building Fund, or the American Heart Association.