1924
John
2018
John Blahna
December 11, 1924 — April 6, 2018
On Friday, April 6, 2018, John Kenneth Blahna passed away peacefully in his apartment at Prairie Place Assisted Living in Ripon, WI. He was 93.
John was born and raised on a small farm in Kensal, ND. He had seven siblings, worked hard on the farm, and spent most of his free time hunting small game while riding his horse bareback across the fields of central North Dakota. In 1944 he joined the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific in WW II. Thanks to the G.I. Bill, he attended the University of North Dakota and earned a degree in Business and Finance in 1951. Along with his brother Gaylord and sister Pearl, he moved to Milwaukee in 1952 and met his beautiful bride Phyllis Mae Birdsong and together they bought their dream home in Greenfield, WI in 1965.
John was a happy and easy-going man who treated everyone he met with kindness and respect. He could talk to anybody and loved to talk about the old days in North Dakota and, inexplicably, found fellow Dakotans virtually everywhere he went. He loved to travel, bowl, and deer hunt, but he especially liked to play golf . . . to the utter amazement of anyone who saw his golf swing. But his passion was taking care of his house, yard, and large vegetable garden. The family often teased him that: “you can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy.” He never denied it.
His survivors include his wife Phyllis, his children Linda Jeske (Scott) and Dale Blahna (Mary Jo), five grandchildren Dena Jeske (Ben Kasuboski), Matthew Blahna (Suzanna), Kasey Steinseifer (David), Julie Klapper (Eric), and Allison Blahna (Matt Lyon), six great grandchildren (to date) – Madelin, Maxwell, Mason, Amelia, Jackson, and Lincoln – and his sister Mary Poppen and sister-in-law, Marilyn Blahna.
Lastly, the family would like to thank the incredible staff (and now our friends) at Prairie Place Assisted Living, the ‘angels’ at Agnesian Hospice Hope, and family friends and neighbors extraordinaire, Kurt and Jenny Koeff. There is a special place in heaven for all of you.
Per John’s wishes, no visitation or funeral service will take place.
Please visit www.butzinmarchant.com to send online condolences.
John was born and raised on a small farm in Kensal, ND. He had seven siblings, worked hard on the farm, and spent most of his free time hunting small game while riding his horse bareback across the fields of central North Dakota. In 1944 he joined the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific in WW II. Thanks to the G.I. Bill, he attended the University of North Dakota and earned a degree in Business and Finance in 1951. Along with his brother Gaylord and sister Pearl, he moved to Milwaukee in 1952 and met his beautiful bride Phyllis Mae Birdsong and together they bought their dream home in Greenfield, WI in 1965.
John was a happy and easy-going man who treated everyone he met with kindness and respect. He could talk to anybody and loved to talk about the old days in North Dakota and, inexplicably, found fellow Dakotans virtually everywhere he went. He loved to travel, bowl, and deer hunt, but he especially liked to play golf . . . to the utter amazement of anyone who saw his golf swing. But his passion was taking care of his house, yard, and large vegetable garden. The family often teased him that: “you can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy.” He never denied it.
His survivors include his wife Phyllis, his children Linda Jeske (Scott) and Dale Blahna (Mary Jo), five grandchildren Dena Jeske (Ben Kasuboski), Matthew Blahna (Suzanna), Kasey Steinseifer (David), Julie Klapper (Eric), and Allison Blahna (Matt Lyon), six great grandchildren (to date) – Madelin, Maxwell, Mason, Amelia, Jackson, and Lincoln – and his sister Mary Poppen and sister-in-law, Marilyn Blahna.
Lastly, the family would like to thank the incredible staff (and now our friends) at Prairie Place Assisted Living, the ‘angels’ at Agnesian Hospice Hope, and family friends and neighbors extraordinaire, Kurt and Jenny Koeff. There is a special place in heaven for all of you.
Per John’s wishes, no visitation or funeral service will take place.
Please visit www.butzinmarchant.com to send online condolences.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Blahna, please visit our flower store.
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