Madison - John Sveum, 71, passed away suddenly of a heart attack on March 31, 2018. He was born in Stoughton on January 10, 1947, the son of Arthur and Irene Sveum. He graduated from Stoughton High School in 1965.
In 1967 John joined the military and was stationed in Germany. Upon his return to the United States, he headed out west to Arizona State University and graduated in 1973.
John was the principal and founder of Yahara Construction and was known for building highly customized homes with interesting architectural designs. Over his more than 35 years in the industry, he built many fine homes in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois and was a frequent participant in the Madison Area Parade of Homes.
John served as president of the Madison Area Builders Association in 1989 and was a member of both the National Association of Home Builders and the Wisconsin Association of Home Builders, as well as the American Institute of Architects and Downtown Madison, Inc.
He received many honors for his work, including Builder of the Year in 1986, the 2001 Orchid Award from Capital Community Citizens for his Dayton Street Condo project, Design Award for The Rock River House in 2015, Madison Magazine's Interior Excellence Award in 1995 and the 2013 US Green Building Council's LEED Builder Award.
John loved both the symphony and fine southwestern art, and owned the Santa Fe Style Gallery on Monroe Street in Madison for many years. He was also a sports fan and enjoyed spending time with family watching the Packers and attending Badger basketball games.
He enjoyed traveling and especially loved spending time in Ecuador with his dear friend Erica Andi and her family there.
John is survived by his brothers Peter Sveum of Stoughton and Phil (Sue) Sveum of Madison; sister JoAnn (Harland) Lee of Hazelhurst, WI; nephews Erik Sveum of Big Timber, MT; Paul Sveum (Ericka Fairfield) of Pittston, ME; Matt (Kristi) Sveum of Columbia, MO; and nieces Kelsey Sveum (Dan Koenig) of Rye, NY; Kristin (Randy) Ott of Edgerton; Kathryn Ong of Orlando, FL; and Karen (Jerry) Sheets of Tomah, WI. He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Irene Sveum.
A Celebration of John's life will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, April 13, 2018 at Cress Funeral Home, 206 W. Prospect St., Stoughton, with Rev. Fran Deaner officiating.
Friends and relatives are invited to a luncheon, immediately following, at the Stoughton VFW Post 328. Friends may greet the family from 10:00 AM until the time of services on Friday. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Habitat for Humanity of Dane County, 3101 Latham Drive, Madison, WI, 53713.
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Cress Funeral Service
206 W. Prospect Street
Stoughton, WI 53589
(608) 873-9244
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