William Gauthier

William F. Gauthier, of Cherokee, Iowa, passed away at the home of family on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, in Marinette, at the age of 81. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie (Nelson) Gauthier, of Cherokee, Iowa; parents, Leo M. and Joan (Pawlak) Gauthier, of Oconto Falls; and sisters, Mary (Donald) Walske and Agnes Patricia (Charles) Offutt. Bill is survived by his daughter, Debra (Norman) Lawson of Owasso, Oklahoma; granddaughter, Kathryn Lawson; grandson, David Lawson; and great-granddaughter, Katy. Bill was born in Oconto Falls and raised on the family farm along with three brothers and seven sisters. Surviving siblings are Joan (Elroy) Block, Margaret (Leonard) Duco, Leo J. Gauthier (Dolores), Helen (Richard) Johnson, Victor Gauthier, Robert Gauthier (Marianne), Denise (Howard) Malecki and Susan Campbell. Those important to Bill included his stepdaughters, Sherri Hagy and Dena Waymire, that he raised as his own, and their children, as well as his brothers-in law, Jim Nelson and Gary Nelson, and sister-in law, Gail Van Scoyk. Bill went to school at St. Anthony’s Catholic School and Oconto Falls High School after which he joined the U.S. Air Force, serving at Travis Air Base in California, providing maintenance on military transport aircraft. It was while he was here that he met and married his first wife, Saloma (Sally) Peachy (deceased), mother of Debra. For extra funds, he worked in the local pick-a-part junk yard. He loved to see how things ticked, so both jobs provided a pragmatic education in applied mechanics. Shortly after leaving the service, he went to work for Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, California, where within a short time his mechanical skills were recognized, and he was assigned to the overhaul and repair section to work on after-market mainframe problems. This required learning engineering applications for which he had no formal education. In his off time, he tinkered with modifying the carburation mechanism for MG sports cars for his friends and took on additional jobs, one of which was securing foreclosed properties for VA and FHA lenders, building a very successful business. Opportunity beckoned with prospects of a business venture in Iowa where his wife, Marjorie, could be close to her family. They purchased a gas, fuel, oil and propane tank farm with delivery trucks and a service station in Larrabee, Iowa. They even added a small, attached restaurant to increase sales. With the girls finishing their primary education, they decided to sell it all and move to St. Louis, Missouri, where Marjorie took a position with Edward Jones and Bill took other work, including a stint at selling insurance. The aircraft business was heating up and they decided to move back to California where Bill could resume his job in aircraft manufacturing and earn a retirement pension. The company decided that they didn’t need him as a mechanic but would take him on as an inspector, with better pay. When he retired 11 years later, he was an inspection engineer with no formal education, earning multiple recognitions for his contributions to sustaining safety standards during construction of the Air Force C-17. On one occasion, he was stunned when the company invited his wife in to present him with an especially high award in front of 700 of his fellow employees, perhaps the only time he was at a total loss for a response. Upon retirement from Boeing, they moved back to Iowa where Bill decided to make another addition to the home he built earlier. He now had a three-story home of over 2,400 square feet of his own design built in a hillside, with hands-on construction. Looking for other things to do, he took jobs including plowing cable, bending sheet metal and driving bus for the disadvantaged. He planted a large garden, canned his crops of tomatoes, pickles and elderberry jam. He took time to go fishing, hunt for mushrooms, track down auction sales and buy John Deere tractors — which, with his friend, Darryl, he would modify and participate in tractor pulls around the state. The political bug took hold, and Bill and Marjorie got involved first at the local level and then as delegates to the state conventions. Bill was a longtime member of the American Legion and took a great interest in veterans and their needs. Bill decided that Cedar Cemetery in Larrabee needed to be decorated on Memorial Day and the 4th of July, so he went about buying enough large U.S. flags to put on 12-foot poles and proudly put them up on these and other occasions. With no one around, he would proudly sing the national anthem to honor those veterans buried there. He also regularly replaced the large flag at the cemetery when it showed signs of fraying. He then was invited to serve on the Veterans Commission for the county, which he did. However, Marjorie needed increasing medical attention, and Bill devoted most of his energies to caring for her. After Marjorie passed, Bill still worked on veterans concerns but was now spending more time with his family and siblings in Wisconsin. His last contribution was serving as post commander for the Cherokee VFW Post 2253 in Cherokee. In Wisconsin, he was instrumental in having veterans of his family and others engraved on the Veterans Memorial Wall in Oconto Falls. Bill had one item that he wanted to leave as a memento to his parents and grandparents, Constant and Leocadia Gauthier. Bill’s mother had rescued a stained-glass church window that had been donated by his father’s parents to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oconto Falls for its construction in 1912. When the church was demolished to make way for the current church, families were given the opportunity to acquire it and his mother accepted. Bill planned to build a small chapel to display the window. He built the chapel in Iowa and had it moved to Wisconsin where it now awaits final details to complete his lasting contribution. The family wishes to thank his special friend, Carol Magnin Kersten, and her family, for their time and thoughtfulness, giving Bill a companion with whom he could unequivocally share his waning days as the sun set on his memorable life. Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 16, 2024, at the Greenwood-Schubert Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa. Pastor Mike Agnew officiated. Burial is at Cedar Township Cemetery, rural Cherokee, Iowa. Visitation with family present was held from 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 15, 2024, at the Greenwood-Schubert Funeral Home. The Greenwood-Schubert Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa, is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.greenwoodfuneral.com. Peace be with you, son in Christ Jesus, brother, father, friend. May our Lord and Savior’s hand rest gently upon your broad shoulders and may his perpetual light shine upon you forever!