John Schuetz

Waunakee — John Schuetz, 85, passed after a series of illnesses early Monday morning at St. Mary’s Hospital. John was an interesting and talented man, passionate about family, sports, beagles and birds, wine making, mountains and building things properly. He had a knack for wisecracks followed by his big grin. And he always had a project. Even in retirement. Even in illness. He crawled under his bed at the recovery center to fix it just days before his death.

John was born June 26, 1939 to Erwin and Ingaborg (Ustad) Schuetz, children of German and Norwegian immigrants. He was the fifth child of nine. He grew up in a tiny red brick house (built by his maternal grandfather who was also a bricklayer on Camp Randall Stadium) on the 100-acre Middleton farm at the corner of Schroeder and Gammon roads owned by his father’s parents, Julius and Caroline Schuetz. His father, a barber, spent a lot of time away from home with his Standardbred race horses, although he occasionally towed John along when visiting the barns or track. John spent most of his time at home with his mother, a housewife, and his siblings having adventures and playing sports. He loved his mom’s cooking. Most people would see the house without running water or heat and say that they were very, very poor. But John loved his childhood and remembers it as loving and happy. The Schuetz family was part of the early German settlers who helped establish Middleton. 

He attended grade school at the one-room Gammon School, where his classmates were siblings, cousins or the neighboring family. John was 12 when his father died. To help his mother earn money, John spent his early teens working on a farm for the summer near New Glarus — which he enjoyed even though he missed his mom. 

John loved sports and was a loud cheerleader for any football, basketball, hockey or baseball game on television. In high school, at 6’6’ (he grew another inch after high school), he excelled at sports, particularly basketball. At Middleton High School, he was a star basketball player, a fact classmates still comment on today. This, even after a tragic fork lift accident at his job at age 16, crushed his pelvis and internal organs. His coworker and big brother Paul, in a show of love, lifted the forklift off him. As it was, John spent months in the hospital and at home recovering. And, in a story he told often and to anyone who would listen, despite the doctors predicting he wouldn’t play basketball again, he was a starter and playmaker the very next season. When he graduated, he had scholarship offers from universities. Instead he chose to stay home to help his mom. “I didn’t realize it was such a big deal,” he often said. So, he started work as a landscaper, his next passion.

He needed a career with a better salary, so he became an apprenticed plumber. He met his future wife, Barbara Schwenn, at Schmitty’s Bowling Alley (later called the Hofbrau Haus) in Waunakee. They married at St. John’s Catholic Church on June 17, 1961 and settled in Waunakee, Barb’s hometown. Although doctors predicted he would never have children, they had their first daughter, Lisa, 11 months later. Three more girls — Lori, Heidi and Holly — followed over the next seven, and he all but gave up on having a son. Then, another seven years after they quit trying, Barb was pregnant again. In May, 1976, he called home to tearfully announce that the girls had a little brother, John, Jr. 

John’s plumbing career was successful and he worked for most of the large plumbing contractors in southern Wisconsin, such as C.A. Hooper. He was proud to say that he was a master plumber on the UW Hospital construction project, and was known for his accurate and correct work. He eventually moved on to his own residential plumbing company, D&S Plumbing, which he operated with Barb as his office manager. He closed out his career as the lead plumber for the Madison School District, a job he cherished for the friends he made. 

But more important than his career were his hobbies, which really were the foundation to how he and Barb raised their family. 

He spent many autumns in the late 1950s and 1960s in his trademark jeans and western hat hunting elk in the mountains near Aspen, Colorado with his brothers, brother-in-law and cousins. 

A trait he likely inherited from his father and passed on to most of his children, he loved animals. He raised pigeons, doves , parakeets and finches at their Waunakee home on Prospect Road, then later, when the family moved to their 7-acre property in the nearby countryside, he had all variety of birds including finches, quail, partridges and even a peacock named “Boy George.” He also raised award-winning field trial beagles, which he promised Barb he was selling, but later found it difficult to part with a single puppy. He was a long-time member of the Wisconsin Beagle Club, and held a stint as president. 

He also continued playing sports: in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he played on the Trameri’s Bar Madison City League team. He was the pitcher for TomSil Realty’s slow pitch team in Waunakee for many years, cheered on by his wife and kids, and even played on the Waunakee basketball league well into his 40s with men 20 years younger. 

Also in the 1970s, the entire family would go camping in a Shasta camper all over Wisconsin, and he would sometimes swim with the girls and show off his Norwegian white skin. 

Under the handle, “Mountain Man,” he joined the CB Radio craze in the 1970s and brought his family on outings to meet his cohorts across the upper Midwest. 

Once the girls moved out, he and Barb —and Johnny when he was still at home — traveled the country visiting his precious Rocky Mountains, national and state parks and the southern states. They also loved visiting his gunsmith brother, Bob, in Olympia, Washington. 

John and Barb moved to Beaver Dam Lake in 2012 where he enjoyed puttering about in his boat house and supervising his kids and grandkids installing and removing the dock each spring and fall using creative methods he invented. 

He and Barb also made all types of wine — grape, rhubarb, elderberry, cherry — and bottled their last bottle for Stoney Point Winery this past November. 

For the last 11 years, they owned a small home in Naples, Florida where he would spend most days playing horseshoe with his friends, listening to his neighbor, Monte, playing live concerts, and riding his bike around the park. He could always be counted on to find time to fix his neighbor’s plumbing. He hated missing out on the last two years’ of winter with his friends at Enchanting Shores due to his health. 

John didn’t like the experience of losing his ability to fix things and explore his hobbies. The couple recently moved to an apartment in Waunakee to downsize and stop John from trying to tackle more projects. But he was also philosophic and would remind Barb of Mitch Albom’s quote in Tuesdays with Morrie, “As long as we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away.” 

John was preceded in death by his parents, mother- and father-in-law Erwin and Florentine Schwenn, former son-in-law David McDonald; siblings Phyllis Roth, Robert Schuetz, Leslie Schuetz, Margaret Loomis, Paul Schuetz and Donald Schuetz; in-laws Alois Roth, Doris (Laughenberg) Schuetz, Reva (Hosted) Schuetz and Bud Loomis as well as the cousins he grew up with on the farm: Carol (Leeder), Lloyd, Russell and Ronald Schuetz. And his brothers-in-law Thomas and John Schwenn. 

John is survived by his wife of nearly 64 years, as well as his sisters Barbara (Bud) Van Alstine and Janet Schuetz, his daughters Lisa Schuetz, Lori (Miguel) Ramirez, Heidi (Andrew) Bingham, and Holly Schuetz and his son John (Becki) Schuetz, Jr. He enjoyed his grandchildren Steven, Jordan (Jacky) and Christopher McDonald, Amanda (Brian) Michaels, Grace and Leeland Bingham, Brianne Rybkin, Delaney Van Dinter, Caden Lincicum and Brenna and John “Jack” Schuetz and his great grandchildren Josslynn, Brandon, Emma, Lucas, Wren, Gabriel and Elias. He is also survived by his siblings in-law: James and Lora Schwenn, Charles and MaryAnn Schwenn, Mary and John Daggett and Marilyn Schuetz and Marilee Schuetz.

The family would like to thank Doctor William Ranum for his excellent care of John and partnership with Barb to continue healing John over the last 25 or so years. 

Donations may be made in John’s honor to the Dane County Human Society or the American Cancer Society. 

A Memorial service to celebrate John’s gifts and talents will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at St. John the Baptist Church, 209 South St, Waunakee. Visitation will be held at the church from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. A gathering will follow. Location to be announced at the service. 

Please share your memories at www.cressfuneralservice.com

 Winn-Cress Funeral Service

 5785 Hwy Q Waunakee, WI