William Raisbeck

Stoughton- William Joseph Raisbeck, age 86, passed away peacefully on Monday, December 23, 2013 at his home surrounded by his family. He was born at the family home in Belmont/Calamine on December 3, 1927, during a bad snow storm, the son of William and Bessie (Miller) Raisbeck. Bill was one of 10 children. At the age of 15 he worked the 80 acre farm with a team of horses, drove his mom to the egg plant, and then back to the farm to feed 14 cows, clean the barns, plant the fields and work the land until dark. Dad use to cry while working the fields because it was hard work. Bill went into the army at the age of 18. He was a Med Tech on the medical ship Comfort. Following his Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army he married Violet Shippy on August 7, 1951. Together they moved to Stoughton in 1955. Dad was a carpenter for 24 years, worked at the boat company in Madison and at Farm & Fleet. Dad helped build the inside of the store by putting up walls and shelving units. His third year of employment he went to his manager to ask if he could build a corral and sell saddles, his boss thought he was crazy. The next year dad sold 89 saddles, the second highest in the US. When dad retired from Farm & Fleet he went to work at Apollo Construction. When dad was 15 he froze both of his feet so bad that the doctor told him he would never be able to walk. Dad was always determined. Mom and dad loved to go dancing. As a family we would go camping with the horses, driving to Arizona in a car along with a cooler of food. When Kim and his family moved to CA dad enjoyed going West. In 2010 Roger, Kim and Keith took dad back to the mountains. Dad loved the mountains and seeing them one more time was on his bucket list. Dad enjoyed watching all of his kids, grandchildren, and great grandchildren's activities and was proud of all of them. This last summer dad was able to meet his two youngest great grandchildren as 14 family members came back for a visit. In 2005 dad met his next dance partner, Lorraine Ellis. Even when dad couldn't go to dances he still jigged and wiggled his butt in the kitchen as we would play polkas and waltz. Dad and Lorraine loved sitting out in the yard watching the clouds, birds, turkeys, the neighbors horses and the kids at play. When dad started showing more signs of dementia Lorraine was a great help, staying with dad during the day. Everyone that knew dad knew they couldn't sneak up on him because he was quick, he would whirl around and be ready to hit. Dad was always a story teller. He is survived by his daughters, Phyllis (Allen) Thorson and Beth (Henry) Waring; sons, Roger (Margaret), Kim and Keith (friend, Tish); grandchildren, Todd (friend, Angela) Maas, Jenny (Matt) Basting, Leslie (Todd) Rowland, Tristan (Jessica) Erdahl, Mike (friend, Lyndzey), Nelson and Sydney Raisbeck; great grandchildren, Emily Erdahl, Mackenzie and Nicholas Basting, Xander Mass and Tracy, Christina, Gracelynn, Savannah and Trevor Rowland, Gavin, Brady, Preslynn, Kynzley, Devon Raisbeck, and baby Erdahl on the way; and special friend, Lorraine, and her family. Bill was preceded in death by his parents; and his wife, Violet. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, December 31, 2013 at Cress Funeral Home in Stoughton. Friends may greet the family at the funeral home from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM on Monday, December 30, 2013 and from 10:00 AM until the time of services Tuesday. A special thank you to Agrace HospiceCare Inc. and to Bill's special nephew, Dick Bunnell, for all of your visits and giving dad a hard time. Dad loved it.