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IN OUR HEARTS— ON THIS PAGE WE FEATURE PEOPLE WHO HAVE IN SOME WAY BEEN APART OF OUR PAST. WHETHER IT BE EX-PLAYERS, FANS, OR FAMILY THESE PEOPLE WILL FOREVER REMAIN A PART OF THIS TEAM AND WHO WE ARE. |
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Tony E. Rikli May 7, 1963—January 3, 2006 Tony E. Rikli, age 42, of Ridgeway, died on Tuesday, Jan 3, 2006, at the Don and Marily Anderson HospiceCare Center, Fitchburg. He was born on May 7, 1963, in Dodgeville. Tony graduated from Dodgeville High School in 1982, where he excelled in many sports. He worked as a carpenter in the Ridgeway area for the past 25 years. He worked with his father for many years before starting his own business. He married Kristen Gullickson of Stoughton in 1999. During Tony’s illness, Kristen was devoted to making him happy. He was blessed with a son, Colton In 2001. Tony enjoyed sharing his passion for the outdoors and baseball with Colton. They could often be found in the front yard shooting his bow or playing ball. Tony was an avid outdoorsman, and particularly enjoyed fishing walleyes and hunting in Colorado. He played baseball for the Ridgeway Home Talent. He recently received the Dennis Morgan Award for Courage from the Home Talent League, for his courage and tremendous attitude. Tony enjoyed visiting his friends and family. He was a very colorful storyteller and oculd be found making many people laugh. He could also be a prankster, especially when it came to sharing his asparagus. Tony was a very independent spirit, and would often remind people to get their priorities straight. His voicemail message was, “If this is about hunting or fishing leave a message, if this about work, forget it.” Tony is survived by his wife, Kristen; his son, Colton; his mother LouAnn Wubbenhorst of Barneveld, his father Ernie Rikli of Linden; his mother-in-law, Grace Gullickson of Stoughton; his brother, Dan (Deb) Rikli of Sun Prairie; his sister, Robin (Joe) Hauser of Mt Horeb; his stepbrother, Tim (Kathy) Wubbenhorst of Monona; his stepsister, Jill (Jim) Campbell of Puyallop, WA; his sister-in-law, Susan Diebold of Stoughton; his nieces and nephews, Morgan, Jessica, Jeremy, Michael, Aaron; many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his stepfather, John Wubbenhorst; his father-in-law, Ralph Gullickson; his grandparents, Edward and Dorothy Rikli and Marlin and Murphy; and his uncle, Harold Rikli. Funeral services were held at Gorgen McGinley & Ayers Funderal Home in Dodgeville. Tony was a big supporter of the Home Talent League even after becoming sick. He loved the game and it showed. I (Suzanne Hogan) started writing the Ridgeway Home Talent Article for the Dodgeville Chronicle because of Tony—when he got to sick to attend the game but still wanted to know what had happened. Many of the current home talent players grew up watching Tony play and idolized him because of his talent. He was DEFINITELY one of the best baseball players to come out of Ridgeway. He is deeply missed and will ALWAYS be remembered. The current team retired Tony’s number during the 2006 Season |
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Brian D. Mester August 5, 1979—February 16, 2007 Brian D. Mester, age 27, of Ridgeway and formerly of Mineral Point, passed away on Friday, February 16, 2007 surrounded by his loving family after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born in Dodgeville on August 5, 1979, the son of Bill and Chris (Pluemer) Mester. He graduated from Mineral Point High School in 1998. He worked at Sub Zero in Madison for the past seven years. He married Kristen Doescher on February 3, 2007 in Ridgeway. Brian was an avid NASCAR fan, loeved Harleys and snowmobiling. He also enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Kristen of Ridgeway; his parents, Bill and Chris Mester of Mineral Point; two brothers, Jason Mester of Lincoln, Nebraska and Josh Mester of Mineral Point,; his grandparents, Walter (Bertie Miller) Pluemer of Mineral Point and Hubert (Joyce) Mester of Belmont; mother-in-law, Donna (Rex Hurd) Doescher of Blue Mounds; father-in-law, Duane “Porky” (Joanne Miller) Doescher of Lodi; a sister-in-law, Tanya Doescher of Cambridge; and several aunts, uncles, relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Millie Pluemer and his uncles, Mike Vacha and Wayne Mester. Brian was a Ridgeway Cardinal Fan and even when he was sick took the time to come to our games. He is loved and will be deeply missed by the Ridgeway Cardinal Family. |
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Bonnie Peterson August 27, 1949—January 27, 2007 Bonnie Lou Peterson, age 57, of Hollandale died Saturday, Jan 27, 2007, at her home, surrounded by her family. She was born on Aug 27, 1949, in Madison, to Wilbur Doescher and Esther (Amacher) Zander. She grew up in the Hyde area, att4ended the Ruggles rural grade school near Hyde, then graduated from the Dodgeville High School in 1967. she was married on June 10, 1967, in the Perry Lutheran Church in Daleyville to Russell Peterson. They farmed together on Russell’s parents’ farm. Bonnie also worked at Amphenol Industries in Dodgeville. She later worked at Wick Homes in Mazomanie; then at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the food service division and later in the transportation division. She was a past member of the Perry Luthern Church and a member of the Barneveld Luther Church. She had achieved her Master Gardner certification and always enjoyed landscape gardening. She treasured spending time and doing craft projects with her grandchildren and family. Bonnie loved traveling with Russell, going on an annual girls’ outing trip with her mother and sisters and camping with her family when the children were younger. She enjoyed socializing with her friends, many of whom were from Hollandale and Ridgeway. She was proud to have had her own home built in 1999. Bonnie is survived by her husband, Russell Peterson of Hollandale; three children, Jodi (Jim) Peterson McGraw of Barneveld, Bret (Jenni) Peterson of Hollandale and Gary (Mandi) Peterson of Blanchardville; nine brothers and sisters, Mary June (Dave Dell) Zitka of McFarland, Ronnie (Peggy) Doescher of Rock City, ILL, Roger (Pat) Doescher of Black Earth, Randy (Judy) Doescher of Mineral Point, Pat Foss of Ridgeway, Barb (Roger Husom) Leuthold of Ridgeway, Dennis (Rhonda) Doescher of Monticello, Donald (Rosemary) Doescher of Blue Mounds and Duane (Joannie Miller) Doescher of Lodi; her mother, Esther Zander of Ridgeway; mother-in-law, Thora Peterson Hollandale; 10 grandchildren, Torre, Camden, AnaCapri, John, Avery, Ella, Haakon, Jordan, Lexi and Brianna; and numerous aunts, unlces, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Wilbur Doescher, who died in 1992; her step-father, Marvin Zander, her father-in-law, Percy Peterson; two bothers-in-law, Bob Zitka and Donnie Foss; and a niece Kimberly Leuthold. Funderal services were held on Wednesday, Jan 31, 2007 at the Barneveld Lutheran Church in Barneveld. Bonnie was a supporter of Ridgeway Home Talent and could be seen at many of our games showing her support. Bonnie also supported Hollandale Home Talent. I (Suzanne Hogan) have many memories of Bonnie laughing and having a good time with friends and family—she always had a story to tell and could always make a person laugh. She will be missed by the Home Talent Families both in Hollandale and Ridgeway. |
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Billy Meudt On January 28, 2004 Billy Meudt was injured in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the mid chest area down. Before his injury Billy had been an active athlete who enjoyed playing baseball, softball, darts and most of all fishing. With the injuries sustained in the accident Billy has lost the use of the lower half of his body and most of the use of his arms and hands. Initially after the accident family and friends rallied around Billy to raise funds to hopefully help his family make it through this trying time. There were many fundraisers around the Ridgeway and Barneveld area some of which were: 1. A Home Talent game at Warner Park between Ridgeway Home Talent and Hollandale Home Talent. (Billy had been a member of both teams and had “retired” only a year or so earlier. He had played for over 20 years. Billy is also a Ridgeway native and grew up playing on Ridgeway baseball teams.) This was a sentimental game for both teams because of the fact that Billy had played for both teams and was loved by all the players who were in the game. The game was played on Sunday, June 13th and was a huge success with about 500 people attending. 2. A Benefit held in Barneveld on May 29, 2004—this benefit featured bands such as: Cherry Pie, Supertuesday, Bob Rocks, and Mighty Electric. This was a weekend event that was originally scheduled for Birch Lake but had to be moved at the last minute due to the weather. It was a great turn out—and raised a lot of money. 3. Golf Outings, Bowling Tournaments, Raffles, and a Village Wide Game Day in Ridgeway were some of the other methods of raising funds for Billy. The ultimate goal of the fundraisers were to provide money so that Billy could have access to “experimental” ways of possibly being healed. The money raised for Billy has been used on “experimental” therapy that took place in Indiana (??) which did get some movement back but the big “experiment” is an surgery in China that has had some successes. Billy and some of his family left for Bejing, China on June 6, 2007 for him to take part in the “experimental” surgery. This surgery entails transplanting olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG) cells from the ridge of the patients nose to the site of the spinal cord injury—in Billy’s case they will be putting the OEG cells above and below where his back was broken. Once the surgery is done there will be more intense physical therapy for Billy—the ultimate hope of all of those who love him is that he will be able to get more movement with a possibility of one day being able to at least walk. Billy is expected to be gone until mid-July. GOOD LUCK BILLY!!! WE LOVE YOU AND YOU WILL STAY IN OUR PRAYERS!!!
We are getting emails on a regular basis from Bejing, China—the surgery has been completed. Billy has fluid that keeps building up around the site of the surgery which seems to be holding up progress. Friday, he finally got up and went out to have his first cigarette—was up for about 1 1/2 hours and it was rough. Janet (Billy’s Mom) and David (Billy’s stepdad) are both still with him; however, Janet will be returning home soon. They hate the food over there and mention it often in their emails— “Did we mention that the food over here sucks. We try something different every meal and we have been here 8 days times 2 meals, times 3 people equals 48 meals and pizza from Papa John’s is the best of all. The cat isn’t bad but the puppy is kind of tough. HA, HA!!!” Keep them in your thoughts and prayers—wish Janet a safe trip home and Billy some improvements. 6/30/07—Billy is still in China but has not seen any improvement—he is expected to be home on July 6th—Keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a safe trip home and still hope for improvements. |
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PVT Karilee Phalen Kari “Care Bear” Phelan left Ridgeway in January 2007 to join the United States Army. Kari joined the Army as a way to “find herself”. Kari attended Boot Camp for nine weeks at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC. Her family; Mike (Dad), Lori (Mom) and brother Corey along with her maternal grandparents; Carl & Eva Mullendore, as well as a friend (Amanda Berg) attended PVT Phelan’s graduation from Boot Camp. After Boot Camp, PVT Phelan was sent to Advanced Individual Training at Fort Gordon in Augusta, GA. She arrived there on March 26, 2007. PVT Phelan has been at Fort Gordon since then and has plans to return home in late July 2007. As the daughter to our teams Co-Business Manager as well as her close relationship to many of the players and the Ridgeway Home Talent Family she has been missed and we cannot wait for her return home. We were so blessed to have her home for a couple of days over the Memorial Day weekend but for some of us it just wasn’t long enough We love you, Kari. And can’t wait for your safe return to us!! |
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Corry Coogan August 12, 1977 — September 20, 1999 |