John L. Moder, age 85, of Town of Bear Creek, passed away on Saturday, June 20, 2020 at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center – Appleton.
John Louis Moder was born on February 21, 1935 at New London Community Hospital to Jonathan and Dorothy (Wilfhur) Moder. He grew up in Bear Creek and graduated from Bear Creek High School in 1952. John entered the U.S. Navy and served from 1952 – 1956 aboard the USS Iowa the lead battleship for most of the Korean War. While in the military, he was united in marriage on December 24, 1952 to Genevieve J. Monty in Dubuque, Iowa. In 1958 he started a career as a High Voltage Lineman with Wisconsin / Michigan Power Company. Ten years later, he joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2150. John worked on countless projects for the union all around the state. During this same, the couple dairy farmed in the Town of Bear Creek, Waupapa County, from 1970 – 1982. John semi-retired in 2000 but continued with special tasks as a Power Lineman for close to 60 years. John was a longtime member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Bear Creek. He really enjoyed visiting with people and was able to start up a conversation with anyone. John was not afraid to talk politics and was proud to help several individuals with their Republican party campaigns. He was able to accomplish a dream Alaskan trip once to go pan for gold. John also liked going to the local casinos to find treasure at the slot machines.
Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Genevieve; and two children, Bret (Jackie) Moder and Shelly (Kenneth) Stern. There are 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren. He is further survived by a brother, Duane (Joan) Moder; a sister, Mickey Meyers; a sister-in-law, Marion Moder; and many other relatives and friends. John was preceded in death by his parents; a daughter, Wanda (Tom) Johnson; a son, Bart Moder; two granddaughters, Fawn Moder and Jennifer Hoier; two sisters, Mary Desmond and Dorothy (Bill) Cowden; and a brother, Thomas Moder.
Funeral Service will be held on Friday, June 26th at 12:00 noon at Beil-Didier Funeral Home, Clintonville with Fr. Timothy Shillcox, O. Praem officiating. Visitation will be held on Friday from 10:00 a.m until time of service at the funeral home. Inurnment will be at a later date at St. Rose Cemetery, Clintonville. Military Honors will be provided by members of the VFW Post 664, American Legion Post 63, and American Legion Auxiliary Unit 63, all of Clintonville. Go to www.beil-didier.com to sign the online guestbook or to send a card to the family.
A special thank you the staff at First State Bank for your support and patience for so many years. We also wish to thank all the nurses at Fresenius Kidney Dialysis Center, Shawano, for the wonderful care provided to Dad.