Obituaries

 

William Henry Bodden

Portage – William Henry Bodden, age 88, passed away peacefully at the Don and Marilyn Anderson Hospice Center in Fitchburg on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011, after a brief illness.

He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 29, 1922 to Henry and Anna Bodden, and grew up in Horicon, Wisconsin, before attending Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, in the early 1940s. While in South Bend he met his future wife, Dorothy Ann O’Neill. They were married on October 28, 1944. He served briefly in the army during the Second World War. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Dorothy, three sons, Tom, Mike, and Bill, their spouses, Amy Bodden, Tracy Lowe, and Tracy Benton, and five grandchildren, Katherine Schultz, Marissa Wolfe, Sabrina Bodden, Amelia Bodden, and Kiran Lowe.

While in high school, William was active in band and debate teams, while serving as a reporter covering Horicon high school sports for the local newspaper. At Notre Dame, he studied Law and upon returning to Wisconsin, ran unsuccessfully for the Wisconsin State Senate seat in Dodge County. He later turned to education and taught in secondary schools in Dowagiac, Michigan, Winona Minnesota, Alma Center, Wisconsin, where he served as Principal, before coming to Portage where he taught history and geography at the Senior High School beginning in 1961.

In the mid-1960s, he worked for the CESA 12 educational assistance office based in Portage, before moving on to become Field Representative and then Vice-President of the Wisconsin branch of the American Cancer society in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

William was active in the 1637 C.W. Henney Knights of Columbus Council in Portage, serving as Grand Knight from 1974-75. He also worked for Columbia County Mental Health Services as a support person for clients living independently. He loved baseball, travel, history, and birds, and loved traveling to the Horicon area to visit with relatives and see the geese migrations at the Horicon Marsh. He was a devoted husband and a supportive and loving father to his three sons. He leaves us much richer for having known him.

Visitation will be at the Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage, Wisconsin on Friday, January 14, 2011 from 4-8 p.m., and on Saturday morning, January 15, at the church from 10-11. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Portage on Saturday at 11 a.m., with Fr. Jim Murphy presiding.  Inurnment will be private.

 

 

 

 

Obituaries
For information please call 608 742-2126 (Portage, WI) or 608 635-2763 (Poynette, WI)