Harold W. Wilkie

Atty. Harold W. Wilkie

Harold W. Wilkie, age 90 of Woodruff, passed peacefully into eternal life on Tuesday Dec. 15 at Howard Young Hospital in Woodruff.

Harold was born Sept. 24, 1925 in Madison, WI to Atty. Harold M. & Vivian Wilkie. He grew up in Madison attending Randall Elementary School & graduating from Wisconsin High School in 1943. After serving in the US Navy, stationed in Florida, 1944-1946, Harold returned to Madison to attend UW Madison, earning a BS in Economics and finishing with his Law Degree in 1953. During this time, he married Lorraine(Rainy) Althaus on Sept. 11, 1948 and their two children, Harold W.,Jr. & Deborah Ann were born. Also during this time, he worked in the sporting goods dept of the UW Co-op and then practicing law with his brothers Ed & Horace. In 1954, he began working for Oscar Mayer as an in-house attorney, retiring in 1984 as a Vice President. After a short lapse, he opened up his own Law Office, handling wills, real estate & trusts.

After Rainy died in 2001, he spent more time up north at his home on Big Lake in Vilas Co.. His love for this area started as a young lad attending Camp Manotowish, enjoying fishing, camping & canoeing. That love never faded. He met Dorothy Schmidt, also a widower from the area. They were married in May 2004, whereupon Harold (Hal)made the longawaited move from Madison to the northwoods.

Harold is preceded in death by his parents & first wife as mentioned. Also, all his siblings and their spouses; Atty Edwin & Ruth Wilkie, Chief Justice Horace & Marian Wilkie, Dr. James(Mac) & Jane Wilkie, John Wilkie, Marybell & Dar Waters MD, Vivian & Ed Tallard, all of Madison.
He is survived by his son, Harold W. (Reesa) Jr. MD of Piedmont, CA, Deborah W. (Jim) Swanson of Stevens Point, WI; four grandchildren, Leah A. Swanson of WI, Paula J.(Brian) Bausch of AZ, Alexis R. Wilkie of VA, Adrian R. Wilkie of MA; two great-grand children, Abram & Hannah Lorraine Bausch and many nieces & nephews.

Harold's love for sports in his younger years led him to play footbal, basketball, softball, golf & ski jumping. His enjoyment & avid support for the UW Badgers started as a youth and lasted through his entire life, especially for football & basketball. He enjoyed the outdoors through fishing, bird hunting, & growing vegetables.

Harold will be remembered for his friendly smile, gentlemanly character, attention to details, desire to 'get the job done' and especially his penchant for punning.

Visitation in Woodruff will be at Nimsgern Funeral Home on Saturday, Dec. 19, 11:00 to 2:00.
Visitation in Madison will be at Cress Funeral Home, Speedway Rd. on Monday, Dec. 21 at 9:30 until time of the service at 11:00 with the burial around 12:30 in RoseLawn Cemetary in Madison.

In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Camp Manitowish, P.O.Box 246, Boulder Junction, WI 54512