Norbert Sternitzky passed peacefully at the Sheboygan Senior Community April 6, 2019 at the age of 94.
Norbert was born in Plymouth, Wisconsin on June 22, 1924. He was baptized and confirmed in St.
John’s Lutheran Church in Plymouth. Later in life, he became a member of Bethany Lutheran Church in
Kohler.
He was preceded in death by his parents Frieda & Gilbert Sternitzky Sr., his wife Bernice Sternitzky, his
brother-in-law Gerald Stern, his sister-in-law June Sternitzky, and his son Donald Plekenpol.
He is survived by his brother Gilbert Sternitzky Jr., his niece Mary Sternitzky [Josh Biser], son David
[Arnita] Plekenpol; grandson Jonathan Plekenpol [Kelly Schwanke]; grandson Christopher [Adrienne]
Plekenpol (Austin, Jett, Titus, Paxton); grandson Jason [Tina] Fillebrown (Noah, Quinn, Hannah);
grandson Matthew [Jessica] Fillebrown (Kaleb, Sophia, Anastasia); grandson Heath [Rachel] Fillebrown
(Mercedes, Lillye, Maximus, Landon).
Norbert graduated from Plymouth High School in 1942 and then joined the Army Signal Corp. He served
in WWII in the European Theater of Operation in General Eisenhower’s headquarters encoding and
decoding messages.
He graduated from Ripon College with a business degree in 1950 and took an accountant position with
the Ohio State Highway Commission in Columbus, Ohio. After a few years, he returned to Wisconsin and
took a position with the Millersville Box Company in Howards Grove where he spent the rest of his
career as the accountant, business & sales manager, and member of the board of directors.
He married Bernice Plekenpol (nee Stern) in 1972. She was the love of his life. Norbert was always very
grateful for the 33 years that they enjoyed together before her passing in 2005.
Norbert’s hobbies included reading, studying finance & accounting, photography, travel, and listening to
music. He also enjoyed doing volunteer work for Thrivent Financial Services events. He was fluent in
German.
Norbert was an easy going, soft spoken, kind, intelligent, caring, and thoughtful man who had the most
wonderful sense of humor. Norbert was greatly loved and will be dearly missed by his family and
friends.
Services will be held at Bethany Lutheran Church in Kohler starting with visitation from 11AM to 12PM
followed by a memorial from 12 to 1PM on Saturday, April 13 th . The memorial celebrating Norb’s life
will be presented by Pastor Robert Steele and guest Pastor Chris Plekenpol. A lunch reception will
follow at Bethany Lutheran Church, to conclude by 2PM. The burial will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery
at 3PM in Plymouth with a military honor guard send off.
In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the following organizations: St. Nicholas Hospice,
Sheboygan, WI; the Alzheimer’s Association; American Brain Foundation; The Gary Sinise Foundation;
Wounded Warriors.
For online condolences and additional information please visit www.wenigfh.com
The staff of the Wenig Funeral Home of Sheboygan Falls (920-467-3431) is assisting the Sternitzky family
with arrangements.
