Arthur "Bill" William Bielefeldt, Jr.

Service Details

Mass of Christian Burial: Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 10:30 am in St. Lucy Catholic Church, 3101 Drexel Avenue

Visitation: in the church on Saturday from 9:30 – 10:30 am

Memorial Suggestions

Memorials to St. Lucy Church, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or to HOPE Safehouse have been suggested.

Racine – Arthur William Bielefeldt, Jr., age 84; affectionately known as “Bill”; was born into eternal life on Saturday evening, September 9, 2017 at Ascension – Wheaton Franciscan Hospital with loving family members at his side.

Bill was born in Mondovi, WI on July 5, 1933. He graduated from Mondovi High School in 1951 – where he made lifelong friends and excelled in football. He was appointed team captain for his senior season and was a member of a formidable offensive foursome known as the “4B’s” which stood for: Beeson, Bielefeldt, Boigenzahn and Brougham. On April 12, 1958 in St. Rose Catholic Church, Bill was united in marriage with the love of his life, Angeline (nee: Volpintesta).

He faithfully served our country with the United States Navy as a medical corpsman. Bill was employed by Western Publishing for over 43 years, retiring in 1995. Extremely devoted to his Catholic faith, Bill was a proud and dedicated member of St. Lucy Catholic Church – where he was actively involved in all aspects of the faith community including daily mass. Bill was a sports fanatic – especially for football and baseball. He had many fond memories of his days as a youth-league football coach. He was an avid dog lover, owning many throughout his life.  When dog ownership days came to a close, Bill became  “grandpaw” to his children’s beloved dogs, Buddy, Puddin, Duke, Daisy, Dallas, Lambeau and Irish who will surely be confused by his absence. Above all, Bill loved spending time with his entire family of which he was so proud.

Surviving are his loving wife of nearly 60 years, Ange; their beloved children, Deborah Ann (Gary E.) Remus of Montgomery IL, Sheila Marie (Larry Lopez) Bielefeldt of Racine, Pamela Lynn (Jeffrey) Lueken of Fox Point, WI and David William (Candace) Bielefeldt of Racine; cherished grandchildren, Gary Albert (Hayley) Remus, Matthew Erik (Shay) Remus, James Michael Lueken, Sarah Leslie Lueken and Lily Ana Bielefeldt; precious great-granddaughters, Rachel Leigh Remus, Anna Rose Remus, Melanie Jade Remus and Violet Alysse Remus who, thankfully, made a safe entrance into this world five days before Bill passed away. His ability to see and speak about her photo brought him joy; sister, Barbara Hestekin of Eau Claire, WI; sister-in-law, Nancy Volpintesta of Appleton, WI; many nieces, nephews, church family and friends.

Bill also leaves behind long-time friends that were especially dear to him: Ann and Jon Hammes, Patty and Jay Hammes, Julie (Hammes) and Mike Rupnow, Bob Thomas, Brenda and Ralph Molbeck and Wayne Lanouette. Bill’s family is forever grateful that he had such amazing people in his life that he could call “friend”.

Bill was preceded in death by his father, Arthur Bielefeldt, Sr; mother, Veronica (nee: Voll) Kohnert; dear aunt and uncle, Edna and Frank Morrison; Ange’s parents, Emil and Mary Volpintesta; brothers-in-law, Albert Volpintesta, Anthony (Joyce) Volpintesta and Thomas Hestekin; dear friends, Jennifer (Hammes) Merklein, Eileen Hammes and Gary Hurtley.

He was a man blessed with a sensitive soul, heart of gold, terrific sense of humor and was always willing to selflessly lend a hand to a friend in need. He assisted with the care of family members as they struggled with dementia in the last years of their life. He ferociously protected his children and often worked two extra jobs in order to achieve his ultimate dream – the ability to fund college educations for them. He grew up with little parental guidance or financial support and regretfully was unable to fund his last two years at River Falls State College.  His dream for his children became a reality as all were able to attend college. It was a blessing that he received 22 golden years of retirement. During the last 14 years of his life, Bill defeated three separate cancers, one of them twice, without complications. Heartbreakingly, a fourth and unrelated cancer, was discovered in its final stage just weeks ago, abruptly ended his life. He was brave and courageous while his family fought desperately and tirelessly along side of him, hoping and praying for a miracle to keep him here. In spite of a relentless group effort, this final foe was aggressive and therefore quickly grew into too large a giant to conquer. God, whom Bill loved and trusted, had a different timeline. Upon learning the seriousness of his illness, his immediate response was, “I have lived a long and wonderful life!”

From his loving wife, Ange: “Bill, I want to thank you for being a wonderful husband and for helping me raise our four beautiful children. I love you and will dearly miss you until we are together again in heaven.”   From Debbie, Sheila, Pam and Dave: “Dad, thank you for everything and we love and miss you. We will take good care of mom like we promised. Losing you has broken our hearts beyond repair. We agree that you did live a long and wonderful life. Selfishly, it wasn’t long enough for us. What relieves our sadness is knowing that you are free of pain and suffering and are safely wrapped in the arms of the Lord. Our goodbye to you is temporary because we will be joining you in heaven one day. Not to worry dad, we will find you there. We’ll ask to be pointed in the direction of a kind and caring man who often speaks proudly of his blue eyes and loving family. ”

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 10:30 am at Saint Lucy Catholic Church, 3101 Drexel Avenue, with Rev. Javier Guativa officiating. Entombment, with military honors, will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery Mausoleum. Visitation will be in the church on Saturday from 9:30 – 10:30 am. Memorials to St. Lucy Church, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or to HOPE Safehouse have been suggested. The family would like to thank the entire Primrose Community, Grace Hospice and Donisha Nesbitt of Covered Care.