John E. Bazey, 88, passed away on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the United Pioneer Home in Luck, Wisconsin. He was born on May 27, 1936 to Joseph and Mae (Clark) Bazey in Arddeck, Minnesota. He was the fifth of ten children, and baptized in the Catholic church. He attended school in Grafton, North Dakota, at Grafton Public School from 1st to 11th grade. While attending school, he also worked at the local bowling alley as a “pin setter”.
The summer before his senior year, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to live with his older brother, George, and finish school. He graduated from Marshall High School in 1954. While in Minneapolis, he worked at a diner as a dishwasher and then after graduation he worked for the P.V. Elevator company as a mailboy. Following graduation, John was introduced to a young lady, Marie Dueholm, from Luck, Wisconsin who was working at the drive-in with his Mom. This young couple would eventually marry on Aug. 11, 1956.
John joined the Air Force after they married and completed his basic training in San Antonio, Texas. Upon his graduation from basic training, he returned to Wisconsin to gather his young bride and off they went to Sacramento, California where John was stationed from 1957-1961. While there, John and Marie made lifelong friends and tried to see as many areas of California as they could. During this time, they welcomed two children. John Duane was born in 1958 and Daryl Ray was born in 1960. When John was discharged from the Air Force, the family moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to both families. They lived in Rice Lake for about a year while they built their home in McKinley, Wisconsin in 1962. They resided in this home all of their married life. One big surprise was yet to come for the family when in 1975, they welcomed a daughter, Denise Lynne.
When the family arrived back in Wisconsin, John started working for the JCPenny’s department store in Rice Lake, where he worked until 1988. In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s John and the boys delivered the Sunday newspaper in the wee hours of Sunday mornings. Once John left JCPenny’s he had a variety of jobs that included working for a logger and doing construction with Marie’s younger brother, Al. He eventually went to work with his son, Daryl, at the House of Wood in Barronett, Wisconsin. During his retirement, he did some work for the housing authority of Cumberland, Wisconsin. Whether it was cutting wood or helping out one of the kids with a project, bowling, hunting, or out in the woods, cutting firewood. John was always doing something and stayed busy. John and Marie tried to take as many vacations as they could together, but they never missed a race, basketball game, or school event of their favorite things in the world, their grandchildren! They loved spending time with them more than anything else, and they would even take them on vacations and leave their parents at home. John and Marie loved to travel and visit friends along the way. There were many trips to Wisconsin Dells as a whole family or camping in Hayward. John’s true love was his family, he wasn’t a man who was going to say that but his actions spoke louder than any words could.
John was an active member of the Bone Lake Lutheran Church, where John and Marie made friends who were like family. They spent many wonderful days and nights camping and playing cards with this group; they even had a Sunday evening bowling league. John was on the board for the Luck fire department for a time, the Bone Lake church council, taught Sunday school and Luther league with Marie, and spent many days canoeing the Namekagon River with the group from church and the Luther league kids. When John could no longer drive, Bob Dueholm would pick him up and take him to play cribbage weekly with the group from church. The weekly cribbage games even continued after John moved to the United Pioneer Home (thank you Bob Dueholm, Darrell Frandsen, and Sheila Brom).
John is preceded in death by his wife, Marie D. Bazey; parents, Joseph and Mae (Clark) Bazey; brothers, Joe Bazey, George Bazey, Leonard Bazey, Ernest Bazey and Rick Bazey; sisters, JoAnne Peterson, Elaine Ostenson and Marie Bazey; sisters-in-law, Bobbie Bazey, Beverly Bazey and Linda Nystrom; and brother-in-law, Raymond “Roger” Dueholm.
John leaves to celebrate his memory: children, John”Duane” (Diane) Bazey of Rochester, Minnesota, Daryl (Rhonda) Bazey of Luck, Wisconsin and Denise (Shane) Nelson of Frederic, Wisconsin; sister, Shirley LaMere; sisters-in-law, Shirley Bazey, Bernice Bazey, Ingrid Bazey, Dorothy Roberts, Patsy Shirley and Mary Dueholm; brothers-in-law, Allen (Kathy) Dueholm, Gary (Betty) Dueholm and David (Donna) Nystrom; grandchildren, Kelsey Bazey (Kevin Fisher), Josh (Marissa) Bazey, Jordan (Shelby) Bazey and Claire Nelson; great-grandchildren, Ellison, Maeve, Audrey, and coming soon, Zoey; along with many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A service will be held at Bone Lake Lutheran Church on Nov. 30, at 11 a.m., with a visitation one hour prior to the service. Pastor Mary Ann Bowman will be officiating. A burial will take place following the service at the Bone Lake Cemetery for the family. Guests are asked to stay inside and stay warm and enjoy the meal
