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Melvin Bonkrude
Melvin W. Bonkrude, 89, of Dallas died March 28 at the Dallas Healthcare Center.
Mr. Bonkrude was born July 24, 1908 at Dallas to Peder and Christina (Saglein) Bonkrude. He attended school at Dallas and farmed for his brother Paul in Canada and later near Dallas. On June 8, 1932, he married Una Ellefson in Prairie Farm. He was a substitute rural mail carrier in Dallas for a number of years, hauled milk in the Dallas area, and operated a gas station and was a partner with Russel Dodge in a used car business in Dallas. Later, he owned and operated a sawmill, did carpentry work and built several houses in Dallas.
Mr. Bonkrude was an avid fisherman and hunter, enjoyed camping and traveling, loved music and playing the violin, was a pilot and had been a member of the former Dallas Flying Club. He had served on the Dallas Village Board.
He is survived by his wife, Una; a daughter, Bonnie Miller of Rice Lake, a granddaughter; two grandsons; two great-granddaughters; and a sister, Mabel Locke of Dallas.
Betty Brinker
Betty L. Brinker, 70, of Barron died March 16 at her home.
Mrs. Brinker was born Aug. 8, 1927 in Boone, Iowa, to Guy and Leah (McNurlin) Cave. She grew up in Ogen, Iowa, and married Donald Brinker on June 3, 1950 at Fort Dodge, Iowa. They lived in Wilton until moving to Barron in 1963, where she was a nurse's aide at the Barron Medical Center and a teacher's aide at Woodland Elementary School. She had also worked at Wee Folks day care center and at Jeffrey's Restaurant in Barron. Mrs. Brinker was a sports fan and enjoyed playing cards, golf, reading and spending time with her grandchildren.
She is survived by a two sons, James of Stanley and David of Rice Lake; three daughters, Donna of Morton Grove, Ill., Sheryl Rasmussen of Baldwin, and Maria Vruwink of Almena; seven grandchildren; and a brother, James, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Mrs. Brinker's husband, Donald, died in 1990.
Harold Brunette
Harold J. Brunette, 77, of Rice Lake died March 16 at the Lakeview Medical Center.
Mr. Brunette was born to Peter and Johanna (Rose) Brunette on Sept. 22, 1920 at Haugen. He attended Rice Lake public schools and graduated from Rice Lake High School in 1939. He returned to Rice Lake after serving in the Army during WWII and married Mardell Stodola at Barron on Nov. 21, 1946. He was a photographer for several years and then co-owned the Band B Photo Studio in Rice Lake until working for the Rice Lake Utilities in 1950. He was office manager and purchasing agent and then superintendent of utilities from1965-1982. He enjoyed photography, hunting and fishing.
He is survived by his wife, Mardell of Rice Lake; three daughters, Kathleen Pasdra, Cheryl Hunt, and Gail Berschneider, all of Schofield; five grandchildren; and three sisters, Dorothy Foltz of Haugen, Eleanore Riehl of Modesto, Calif., and Betty Anderson of Milwaukee.
Mr. Brunette was preceded in death by a daughter, Kari.
Burnham Catura
Burnham "Buck" Oliver Catura, 70, of Whitehall and formerly of Rice Lake, died April 6 at his home in Trempealeau County Health Care Center in Whitehall.
Mr. Catura was born March 20, 1927 at Menomonie to Sarah (Ohnstad) and Earl Catura. At age16, he moved with his family to Rice Lake. In high school, he was a radio announcer at WJMC and became involved with harness racing with his father. He enjoyed the camaraderie of many racing old-timers of the Rice Lake community. He graduated from Rice Lake High School in 1945 and left early in his senior year to enter the Navy. On Dec. 17, 1944, he was assigned to the Naval Air Station Control Tower at Kodiak, Alaska. After his discharge, he continued to pursue his radio career and worked at several radio stations, most notably KDAL in Duluth. He attended Northwestern University in Chicago and Northland College in Ashland. From the age of 25, due to mental illness, he resided at Tomah Veterans' Hospital and then health care centers in various counties.
He is survived by a sister, Sally Deutsch of Rice Lake; two nephews, Dane Deutsch of Rice Lake and William Hrudka of Eau Claire, a niece, Tammy Deutsch of Menomonie; an aunt, June Tongen of Altoona; and three cousins, Marian Foged of Sarona, and Lois Anderson and Carolyn Ohnstad, both of Menomonie.
Esther Dean
Esther Dean, 90, of Rice Lake died Thursday at the Heritage Manor there.
Mrs. Dean was born July 17, 1907 to William and Johanna (Johnson) Foltz at Lone Rock. She moved to the Haugen area with her parents and later lived in a number of states, including Arizona and California, before returning to Rice Lake in 1988.
She is survived by a son, Donald Graham of Aurora, Colo.; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Dean was preceded in death by her husband and a daughter.
Joseph DeSantis
Joseph Scott DeSantis, 35, of Rice Lake died April 5 at his home.
Mr. DeSantis was born Nov. 17, 1962 in Cumberland to John and Jeanne (Pierson) DeSantis. He attended school in Cumberland, graduated from Cumberland High School in 1981 and married Roberta Dahl in 1988. He attended WITC in Rice Lake, graduated from Minnesota School of Drafting and owned and operated Sunshine Cabinets. He enjoyed wildlife and was active in Ducks Unlimited.
He is survived by a daughter, Jordyn DeSantis and a son, Jacob DeSantis, both of Rice Lake; his father, John DeSantis of Bancroft; his mother, Jeanne DeSantis of Cumberland; three brothers, Daniel of Altoona, and David and Richard, both of Cumberland; and six sisters, Valerie Bunker of Topeka, Kan., Lynette Johnson of St. Cloud, Minn.; Pamela DeSantis and Lonna DeSantis, both of Cumberland; Marlene DeSantis of Barronett, and Della Schindler of Eau Claire.
Theodore Emerson
Theodore Emerson, 38, of Barron died March 15 at Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake.
Mr. Emerson was born on Dec. 24, 1959 in Shawano to Franklin and Mary (Yaws) Emerson. He grew up and attended school in Barron. After graduation from Barron High School, he worked for Koser's Ironworks in Barron. He married Trudy Klovstad there on Dec. 31, 1981, and they lived in Barron for many years. Mr. Emerson enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and spending time with his family.
He is survived by his wife, Trudy; a daughter, Stacy of Barron; his mother, Mary of Barron; and two brothers, Thomas of Barron, and James of Winter.
Russell Frasier
Russell L. Frasier, 63, of Barron and formerly of Algonquin, Ill., died March 15 at the Barron Medical Center.
Mr. Frasier was born to Roy and Jessie (France) Frasier on July 19, 1934 in Rice Lake, where he attended public school and graduated from Rice Lake High School in 1952. He married Maxine Hyland at Chetek on Sept. 25, 1954 and after service in the Army returned to Rice Lake in 1956. The couple moved to Algonquin, where he was a truck driver until 1993 and then worked for Stanley Smith Security until moving to Barron in 1995. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 1157 AF and AM at Cary, Ill.
He is survived by his wife, Maxine; two sons, James of Burbank, Ill., and Dale of Woodstock, Ill.; two daughters, Kimberly Frasier and Kay-Anne Toppel, both of Algonquin; and five grandchildren.
