Obit: Artus, John L. (1925 - 2016)

Transcriber: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Artus, Artus-DeBroux, Baumann, DeBroux, Gurlea, Hammerstrom, Hilmershausen, King, Rauen, Raymond, Reiche, Schmidlkofer, Seeger, Semerau, Voigt, Zastrow

----Source: The Peterson Kraemer Funeral Home (Athens, Edgar, Marathon WI) 6/30/2016

Artus, John L. (7 APR 1925 - 29 JUN 2016)

John L. Artus, 91, Marathon, has ended his earthly life and entered in to his eternal life to be with the Lord on Wednesday June 29, 2016, at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

He was born on April 7th 1925 in the town of Stettin to John A. and Emma (Hilmershausen) Artus and was raised on the family farm. On September 3, 1949 he married Leila Voigt at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in the town of Hamburg. She preceded him in death on July 26th 2000.

He and Leila farmed in the Town of Stettin and he logged and provided custom crop harvesting. He was a devout Christian with a very strong faith, as he read the Bible daily and was a lifelong member of Rib Falls United Methodist Church. John had a contagious smile, was always very kind and generous and was an extremely hard worker who taught his family strong work ethic, to do things right and to never stop until the job was done. He had the knack to fix anything. John always welcomed anyone at their table for fellowship, food and laughter. He was willing to lend a helping hand to those in need. He was an avid reader and enjoyed music, as he even played the accordion in his younger years. There wasn't a Sunday morning polkas weren't heard. He loved spending time with his family and sharing Cheetos and Pepsi with his great-grandchildren. He was a proud member of the Operating Engineers Local 139 and operated many different pieces of heavy equipment. Precision crane operation was his expertise as he helped build many of the local landmarks and businesses. He was recognized for his 67 years as a devout Operating Engineer Union Member.

John will be dearly missed by all of his family and friends, three daughters, Janis Artus (Robert Schmidlkofer), Jayne (James) Seeger, and Judy (Randy) Artus-DeBroux, all of Wausau; his three sons, John J. (Diane) Artus, Jerry (Sally) Artus and Jeffrey (Cindy) Artus, all of Marathon; ten grandchildren, Jodi (Ryan) DeBroux, Marathon, Justin (Traci) Seeger, Wausau, James (Wendy) Rauen, Athens, Ashley (Jay) Hammerstrom, Chelsey Artus, Lesley Artus, all of Marathon; Jeff Artus, Jordan Artus and Emily Artus all of Marathon, Cody Raymond, Wausau, nine great-grandchildren Emma, Evan and Eli DeBroux, Brexton King, Ty Hammerstrom, all of Marathon, Angel and Joseph Rauen, Jaye and Jordin Zastrow and one great-grandchild on the way, one brother Wallace (Elaine) Artus, Wausau, brother-in-law Gene (Jennie) Voigt, Marathon and sister-in-law Marvel Artus, Edgar.

He was preceded in death by the love of his life Leila, grandson, John Matthew Artus, sisters’ Alice (Leslie) Baumann, Gertrude (Leonard) Reiche, Alma (Elmer) Semerau and brother James Artus, as well as his parents, John A. and Emma Artus.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 2, 2016 at the Rib Falls United Methodist Church, town of Rib Falls. Burial will be in the Rib Falls United Methodist Cemetery. Pastor Tim Gurlea will officiate. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, July 1, 2016 at the Peterson/Kramer Funeral Home Marathon, and again on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the funeral at the church. Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com

The family would like to thank the staff of Azura Memory Care and of Aspirus Wausau Hospital for taking such great care of John. The compassion you have shown and the care you have provided is heartfelt and sincerely appreciated. To the special Azura caregivers who touched his heart, you know who you are! The family would also like to thank John's long-time physician Dr. Thomas Stoffel and most recent care and compassion of Dr. Huff and Dr. Hwang.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial scholarship fund has been established in John and Leila's honor.