Cress Funeral & Cremation Services- Speedway Location

Judith Barbara Veronica was born to Joe and Julia (nee Kurdziel) Witnik, growing up on Chicago's West Side, attending St. Francis Assisi grammar school and graduating from Providence High School in 1959, proudly serving as her Senior Class's Vice President. It was during this time that the infamous Ami Fiettes (loosely 'girlfriends' in French) was established, solidifying a group of deep friendships and which would endure Judie's lifetime. Judie's children were born while she was in her 20s, and in 1970 the young family moved from the city to Arlington Heights, IL. Judie was a Brownie troop leader, a school volunteer and learned how to play tennis in a neighborhood where she formed...

Judith Barbara Veronica was born to Joe and Julia (nee Kurdziel) Witnik, growing up on Chicago's West Side, attending St. Francis Assisi grammar school and graduating from Providence High School in 1959, proudly serving as her Senior Class's Vice President. It was during this time that the infamous Ami Fiettes (loosely 'girlfriends' in French) was established, solidifying a group of deep friendships and which would endure Judie's lifetime. Judie's children were born while she was in her 20s, and in 1970 the young family moved from the city to Arlington Heights, IL. Judie was a Brownie troop leader, a school volunteer and learned how to play tennis in a neighborhood where she formed...

Kenneth (Ken) Kennedy (86) of Madison, Wisconsin passed away November 10th, 2025. Ken was born in Beaver Dam in 1938 to Clara and Joseph. He grew up in Watertown and graduated high school in 1957. Throughout high school and college he worked at Mullins Dairy to support himself. He met Sharon, his wife of 60 years, in high school and they married in 1960. He went to the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater for college and graduated in three and a half years with an education degree. He went on to get master's degrees from Eastern Michigan University and University of Wisconsin - Madison, both also in education. He was an elementary and middle school teacher in Madison for 35 years. In his...

Dorothea Jean Iverna (Schunck) Jones Daley, age 99, passed away Oct. 1, 2025. A Celebration of Life will be Oct. 26, 2025, 10 a.m. at the Chapel in Hillside Cemetery, St. Clair, MI. For full obituary, visit: www.cressfuneralservice.com.

Joel Peter Schlicht, age 57, passed away on August 28, 2025. Joel was born on June 12, 1983, in Madison, WI. Joel is survived by his parents, Peter and Terry Schlicht, sister Tanya Glowinski (Jeff), son Karl and daughter Elizabeth. Private Services will be held. Share memories at www.cressfuneralservice.com

Patricia L. Fiedler, age 89, of La Crosse, WI passed away on Sunday, July 27, 2025 in La Crosse. Pat was born July 6, 1936 in Mountain Lake, MN, the daughter of Minnie (Franz) and Ervin Goertzen. She married Merle L. Hale on February 16, 1957 and they were together until Merleundefineds death on June 21, 1973. She married Harold L. Fiedler on August, 19, 1984 and they were together until Haroldundefineds death on February 7, 2000. Pat was an outstanding baker of Christmas goodies and liked nothing better than spending time with her family. Pat is survived by her daughter Colleen (Hale) Lloyd. sons Steven Hale (Terri) and Curtis Hale (Ann), grandsons Michael Lloyd (Rachel), Marcus Hale (Lauren),...

Norman Roy Thal, Jr. died on March 25, 2025 at the age of 93. The son of Norman Roy and Evelyn Esther Schwartz Thal, he was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 14, 1932, and lived in Detroit until his family moved to Toledo, Ohio, in 1942. In Toledo, he graduated from DeVilbiss High School in 1949, where he served as editor of the school's newspaper. In 1953, he received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan, where he was a member and president of the Phi Sigma Delta fraternity. Following college, Norm spent a year in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as part of General Electric's Management Training Program. Then he joined the U.S. Army, serving at Fort Detrick, Maryland,...

James Raymond Mayhew, age 80, passed away at Oakwood Village on March 13, 2025, from complications of congestive heart failure. Born on March 12, 1945, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Arthur and Virginia (Harreld) Mayhew, Jim was a lifelong academic who earned his Bachelors degree at Washington University. He continued on to a Masterundefineds from the University of Missouri and PhD. from Florida State University. Jim worked for Texas A&M University before moving the family north to Madison to work in Adult Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He spent the last 20 years of his career at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). Jim met his...

Virginia "Ginny" Bormett, 79 of Madison passed away peacefully on March 13th, in the wonderful care of hospice at Agrace in Fitchburg. Ginny was born in Elkhorn, WI to Annette (Sterken) and Abraham Keyzer, the middle of seven children. She graduated from Delavan-Darien high school, got a degree from Madison Business College, and later took classes at Edgewood College. Ginny was a true friend to many people and will be profoundly missed by those who had the privilege of knowing and loving her. She married James "Jim" Bormett on June 10, 1966. Together they raised 3 daughters in Madison and instilled the importance of generosity, hard work, and education. She worked for many years at Cuna...

Thea La Budde Brunsell Madison - Thea Brunsell, age 101 1/2 passed away peacefully surrounded by her family March 11th, 2025. A private Celebration of Life for family will be held at Oakwood Chapel April 11th. We encourage you to share your condolences online with the Brunsell family at www.cressfuneralservice.com. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal, what is important is to keep on keeping on." Winston Churchill as adapted by Thea. Cress Funeral & Cremation Service 3610 Speedway Road, Madison (608) 238-3434 Please share your memories at www.cressfuneralservice.co

Andrea "Andy" K. Mortenson, 76, of Iron River, died peacefully on March 11th, 2025 at St. Mary's Hospital after a loving weekend spent with her family. Andy was born in Superior on Nov. 6th, 1948, the daughter of Robert and Ruth (Larson) Wiberg. She graduated from Superior Senior High School with the class of 1966 and furthered her education at UW-Superior. Andy married the love of her life, Martin "Mickey" Mortenson on June 28th, 1969. Andy and Mickey celebrated 30 wonderful years of marriage before he preceded her in death on August 31st, 1999. They created many great memories over the years with the most beloved times spent raising their children, daughter Christy and son Curt. In...

Deborah (Debby, Deb) Ann Del Ciello (nee Whitty), age 75, of Madison, Wisconsin passed away on Saturday, March 8, 2025 at the home of her son, Anthony Del Ciello. She was born on July 16, 1949, in Marshalltown, Iowa, the daughter of Francis (Mike) and Helen Whitty. She married Ronald Del Ciello on July 18, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois. They divorced in 2002 and Deb was friendly with Ron and his wife, Jane. Deb graduated from Eagle Grove High School in Eagle Grove, Iowa as part of the class of 1966. In 1968, she earned an Associate degree at Iowa Central Community College and transferred to the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree...

Madison- Kathleen Belle Karlen, age 86, passed away on Friday, February 28, 2025 at the New Glarus Home, surrounded by her family. She was born in New Glarus on April 2, 1938, the daughter of Ervin and Palma Fjelstad. From the age of 5 Kathleen was fascinated with playing piano. She played piano and taught in many different areas including Sunday School, for Swiss United Church of Christ in New Glaurs, for United Brethern Church in New Glarus, for the Grade school operettas, high school girls chorus and the mixed chorus, and for high school graduation. Kathleen attended many piano seminars at the UW. She was an independent Piano teacher for many years and was a past member of the Madison...

South Beloit- Michael J. Tyler "Mailman Mike," age 67, left this earth with the sunset on Friday, February 28, 2025, surrounded by his family and all four of his children, following a courageous battle with cancer. He was born in Monroe on April 6, 1957, the son of Lawrence Jr. and Barbara Tyler. Mike graduated from Beloit Catholic High School in 1975. He was a veteran who proudly served his country in both the US Navy and the US Army National Guard for a total service time of over 20 years. On March 15, 1986 Mike started working for the US Postal Service. For 38 years he was affectionately known as Mailman Mike until his retirement in March 2024. He was an avid sports fan, especially...

Gregory Robert Wood was born February 19th, 1955, and grew up in Evansville, Wisconsin, where he was known as "Woody"; to the rest of us, he was "Greg." He passed away peacefully in his sleep from prostate cancer on February 8th, 2025, at the age of 69. He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Lane Wood, his mother, Maxine Moore Wood-Young, Maxine's husband, Wayne E. Young, and his brother-in-law, Kenneth J. Ziebell. Greg is survived by his wife of 34 years, Janet Lewis, and his siblings, Daryl Wood (Margaret), Ronald Wood (Patricia), and Kathryn Ziebell (Kenneth). He is also survived by his close friend since grade school, Scott Allen (Debbie). After high school, Greg attended...

Daniel "Dano" Raffill, age 57, passed away at his home in Evergreen, CO on Friday, January 31, 2025. He was born in Madison, WI the son of Dennis and Cindy Raffill. Dano graduated from Madison West High School in 1985. He was a lifelong carpenter. In 1994 Dano moved to Colorado where he continued his career with many building companies. He loved playing softball, darts, golf, cornhole, and spending time with family and friends. Dano was a genuinely nice guy, very respectful to everyone he encountered, and very likeable. Dano is survived by his parents; sister, Debbie (John) Hanson; uncles, Jim Way and Bill (Lori Freitag) Way; aunt, Sarah Raffill; special cousins, Jennifer (Mark) Kalish and...

MADISON - Jean N. Sumi, age 100, died January 18, 2025 after a brief illness, within the comfort of family members. She was born January 4, 1925, to John and Erna Nagle (Wente) in Flint, Michigan. Jean fondly remembered growing up on Grosse Ile, Michigan where her father maintained a thriving medical practice. At the foot of their home's driveway she caught the eye of a dashing Navy air cadet, Harold. They wed in 1944, then lived in Olathe, KS, Minneapolis, MN, and Park Ridge, IL before settling in Racine, WI in 1954. While Harold developed the aviation program for S.C. Johnson & Son, Jean raised their six children in their lakefront home. When all the children became school-aged she...

Deanna Jean (Oilschlager) Walczak, age 80, passed away on January 8, 2025 at BrightStar Senior Living of Madison. Born on October 18, 1944 in Wisconsin Rapids to Clemence and Myrtle (Randrup) Oilschlager, Deanna grew up on the family farm outside of Port Edwards, Wisconsin. She graduated from John Edwards High School in 1963. Following high school she attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she received a degree in music education in 1967. As part of her education, she was a proud member of the Luther College concert band. Deanna began teaching elementary music in the Appleton, Wisconsin school district later in 1967. She always loved music and enjoyed sharing that love of...

Ruth Ellen (Olson) Apps, age 87 of Madison, peacefully passed away at home after a long illness. In a family of writers and artists, from photographers to musicians and actors, we struggle to find a way to truly summarize all that was Ruthie Apps. Three words stand out: Family, friends, and faith. Maybe, the closest to capturing her life is: Et godt levd liv - Norwegian for "A life well lived". Born in Westby to Otto Olson and Ella Lundgren Olson. Ruth was the youngest of five children (Pearl, Clarence, Burton and Jean). She grew up on the family farm and attended South Natwick one-room country school. Ruth was active in 4-H, was an accomplished seamstress and cook and was named the...

Ilona Maria Smith, age 84, passed away on Saturday May 4th, 2024, at Agrace Hospice in Madison, Wisconsin. She was born on June 17th, 1939, In Greenland Michigan, the daughter of Bertha Helen (Uotila) Smith and Oiva Raymond Smith of Mass City, Michigan. Ilona graduated from Mass High School in 1957. She furthered her education at Michigan State University, graduating in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. After graduation Ilona drove out west, eventually settling in Ventura, California where she lived with the love of her life Richard "Dick" Zizic, her partner for about 60 years. Ilona had a few employers, with the latest being the County of Ventura, working as a...

Thomas L. Walsh passed away at the age of 90 peacefully at home on January 5th surrounded by his family. Thomas was born in 1933 to Ambrose and Mildred Walsh in Joliet. He was married to the love of his life, Barbara J. Walsh (nee Zupancic) for 61 years. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and their three children, Brian (Tammie) Walsh, Susan (Steven) Leggero and Janice (Christopher) Hurley. He had 9 grandchildren including Derick, Jacob, Jessica, Michael (Katie), Joshua, CJ, Kassie, Justin and Katie. He is also survived by his sister, Margie Vandenburgh from California. He is also survived by sister-in-law Sharon (James) Dillon and sister in laws Paulette and Helen Walsh. Thomas was...