Patrick John “Beezer” Raymer, 60, of Greenville, Texas, passed away on Sept. 12, 2014, at the VA Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Pat was born in Shawano on July 18, 1954, to the late John L. Raymer and Jean M. Carroll. He graduated from Wauwatosa East High School in May 1972 and went on to serve his country in the U.S. Army until he was honorably discharged. Pat worked as a professional dog trainer until his retirement.

Alvin B. Schmidt, 83, of Tigerton, passed away Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014, at his home. Alvin Bernard Schmidt was born May 6, 1931, in Oshkosh to Frederick and Annetta (Nero) Schmidt. He graduated from Tigerton High School in 1952. Alvin worked for some time in the Men’s Department at Sears and as manager at the Montgomery Ward Store, both in Winona, Minnesota. For over 30 years, he enjoyed managing an apartment building complex in Winona.

Frieda E. (Kaltenbrun) Voeks, 102, of Shawano, passed away on Oct. 16, 2014, at her home. She was born on March 1, 1912, in St. Nazianz to the late Anton and Mary (Stahl) Kaltenbrun. On May 27, 1933, Frieda was united in marriage to Wallace R. Voeks, who preceded her in death in 1998. Frieda was a member of Peace United Church of Christ in Shawano and was very active on the church counsel. She worked at Schultz Brothers Store for 10 years.

Irma Jansen, 89, of Shawano, was called to her heavenly home on Oct. 7, 2014. Irma was born Feb. 20, 1925, to Paul and Gertrude Genke, of Merrill. The family later moved to the Hayes/Suring area to run the family farm. Irma attended school in Suring, graduating from Suring High School. After World War II, Irma married Quentin “Buck” Jansen, of Suring. Irma worked in Milwaukee while Buck attended MSOE.

I am all ready for the snow. Well, not really. I am hoping it will hold off for a couple more months. However, my van is sporting new tires, so in that sense I am ready. My van is nine years old. I don’t believe I ever owned a vehicle that long. I purchased the van because of wanting to take grandkids on little trips. We went to Wisconsin Dells, only once, but it was a trip to remember.

God’s animal kingdom fascinates me, and I really think there is more going on in their realm than we as humans are aware. They tend to each other and, for the most part, are kind to each other, and sometimes even have fun together. Once in a while there are skirmishes, but that’s because they live in such close proximity to each other.

Since retiring, Marlene Brath does a lot of volunteering. She was born and raised in Shawano, graduating from Shawano High School. Brath worked at the former Midwest Breeders for six years, Shawano school system for 19 years and as clerk/treasurer for the city of Shawano for 20 years. She retired in 2011. Brath and her husband, Steve, who works part time at Shawano Medical Center, have been married 31 years.

St. James Lutheran School in Shawano has a very active Parent Teacher League (PTL). Its purpose is to help parents with wholesome Christian activities and encourage family and teacher relationships. “We provide activities for families as well as support the teachers,” said Erin Klement, PTL vice president and a kindergarten aide at the school. The activities include an ice cream social in the fall and a family fun night in the spring.

To the editor: Regarding the sheriff department probe, I have a few concerns. The first thing that comes to my mind is why is our sheriff trying to stop this probe? Is there something he fears that it will reveal? Remember that this all started with $1,000 missing. Then it was found by different committees that money was missing twice before.