Alvin Richard Popelka, who died on May 5, 2021, was born on July 29, 1924 in Mountain, WI, the 12 th of 15 children
born to Anton M. Popelka, Sr. and Mary T. Kugel Popelka. He attended schools in the Mountain area and
graduated from Mountain HS in 1941. Before enlisting in the Navy, he worked for the Conservation Corps Camp in
Mountain. In 1942, he enlisted and served in the Navy. After being honorably discharged in December, 1945, he
came home and married Mary Jane Anderson on July 6, 1946 at St. Mary’s of the Lake in Lakewood, WI. During
their 66 years of marriage, they were blessed with 6 children: Louise, Betty Jean, Karen, Donald, Nancy and
Kathryn. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Jane Popelka, in 2012, his parents, and his siblings and their
spouses: Ann and David Urban, Joseph and Ann Popelka, Anton M. Jr. and Henrietta Popelka, Henry and Verna
Popelka, Louis and Elaine Popelka, Irene and Edward Mackewicz, Elizabeth and Philip Thompson, George and Doris
Popelka, Margaret and Harlo Richardson, Harold and Edith Popelka, Marie and Alphonse Szambaris, Adrian and
Margaret Popelka, Delores and Gerald Kraus, Patricia and Alphonse Peterson; his father and mother-in-law: Dewey
and Elvira Sandberg Anderson; his sisters and brothers-in-law: Doris and Walter Ellmann, Joan Ernst, Vernon and
Doris Anderson, Alice Anderson, and Martha Anderson; his granddaughter, Leslie Gahagan, and nieces and
nephews.
He is survived by his children and their spouses: Sister Donalise Popelka, OSF, Betty Jean and Earl Helmer, Karen
Schieble, Donald and Gail Popelka, Nancy and Neil Steffens and Kathryn Popelka; 16 grandchildren, 35 great
grandchildren (his first great-great grandchild, a boy, is due to be born in late June), brothers and sisters-in-law:
Lawrence Ernst, Norman and Joan Anderson, and Lynn and Patti Anderson; numerous nieces and nephews, and his
friends.
He was a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Elkhart Lake where he served as an Usher and as a
member of the Holy Name Society. He was a volunteer Greenbush Fire Department firemen. Alvin worked as an
electrician for Household Utilities, Kiel, and then for Sargento, Plymouth.
His hobbies included reading, cross-word puzzles, Sudoku, watching Brewer and Packer Games (or any good
football games), and Sheep Head and cribbage games. He was an avid vegetable gardener. In recent years, his
generous neighbors, Carol and Gene Liebe, and Gary Rasche, have kept his lawn cut or his snow plowing done. We,
his family, are most grateful for your friendship with and your care for Dad.
Dad was a man of few words, but he was quick witted, delightfully humorous, patient, a family man, a gentleman,
a man of deep Faith who taught us by both words and example.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday (June 10, 2021) at 11:00 AM at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic
Church in Elkhart Lake. Father Philip Reifenberg, Pastor of the Church, will officiate. Inurnment will be in St.
Thomas Aquinas North Cemetery in the Town of Rhine.
Relatives and friends may call at the CHURCH on Thursday from 10:00 AM until the time of Mass. Please observe
COVID 19 precautions in Church.
A memorial fund is being established in Alvin’s name.
The Suchon Funeral Home and Cremation Services is assisting the family. For online condolences, please visit
www.suchonfh.com.
Our family is grateful for the care provided by Dr. Mary Gentine, Dr. Louis Coulis, and Dr. Steven Bettag and St.
Nicolas Hospice nurses, Lisa and Becca, and their staff. Your support assisted us in fulfilling Dad’s wishes to remain
in his home.
God Bless you, Fr. Philip Reifenberg, for attending to Dad’s spiritual needs. Thank you to the parishioners of St.
Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, especially the Sunshine Club, Dad’s family and friends and the Franciscan Sisters
of Manitowoc for keeping Dad in your thoughts and Prayers. He appreciated each Prayer.
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