Service Details
His celebration of life will be held along with his wife’s, at the Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home and Crematory on June 8, 2024. The visitation will be at 11:00 a.m. and the service will be at 12:00 p.m. It is his children’s wish for you to help celebrate, by wearing Farve/Packers for Dave, and purple for Nancy.
You are also invited to take the opportunity to stand and speak your memories of either or both, during the service.
Following the service, please join the family for a luncheon. Held at Racine Instinctive Bowmen, 14403 50th Rd., Sturtevant.
Memorial Suggestions
In lieu of flowers. Dave would appreciate donations to the following: St. Jude, The Optimist Club, and to the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Dept., of Grand Marais, MN. http://www.gunflint911.org/ for online donation, or donate by check to Gunflint Trail Fire Dept, 7410 Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais, MN 55604. They do suggest printing and filling out their donation form from their website, and mailed with the check.
David, AKA Red, passed away at home, peacefully with family around him, on March 8th, 2024. He was born on February 3rd, 1927, to his late parents Stephen Kizewic and Kazimiera (Anne) Kizewic/Black, nee: Valiukas. He was the first born generation of Lithuanian immigrants. As a child, he grew up on a farm off HWY 41, between HWYs 20 & 11. The school bus would drop him off, and he had to walk the long driveway to get home. On a daily basis, he had to run for his life, as a particular rooster would chase him to the house! This frantic antics continued for quite some time, until suddenly, the rooster not only didn’t chase him, but wasn’t even seen! He was greatly relieved, not realizing they’d had roast chicken the night before. His grandparents lived in a “cottage” on that farm, so it was either his mom or his grandmother that “disappeared” that chicken. Probably the latter. Dave also learned to speak fluent Lithuanian from her. She never did learn much English. Moving to the flats of Memorial Dr., he made the mistake of running into the street (remember he was a farm boy). And yes, got hit by a car. Almost as traumatizing as that darned rooster, he luckily escaped with just a broken nose. But it bothered his breathing forever.
To prepare for his (unknown) desire to be involved in so many sports, he became a newspaper delivery boy. For many miles did he ride his bike daily, to deliver paper to his allotted customers. Neither wind, nor storm, nor inches of snow, kept him from completing his job. He developed good flexibility doing seasonal farm work, where he and his siblings helped pick onions at the Piper farm off Sheridan Road area. This also started honing his perfectionism, as the farm foreman yelled (to everyone there), “Be sure to pick up EVERY SINGLE ONION!” On occasion, the other workers would race with a Kizewic, to get to the end of their row first, with, of course every single onion. As a teen, he worked in a bakery on 16th St. Surely this developed his interest to create, fix, and perfect the final outcome. And as the start of helping others, he was an usher at the Venetian Theater, downtown, where he, uh, helped, his siblings to enjoy some movies. A man of many trades he would become. He graduated from Horlick High School in 1945, and two generations have followed through those same halls.
He was drafted and chose the Navy, at the end of WWII, and in the reserves. He did clerical work in HR offices. One day he was asked to fill in for the guy who printed out the checks every week. Not realizing the other guy apparently took his time to do this job, Dave got them all completed before the end of his shift. The ‘bosses’ were stunned, and questioned how he got done so fast. (This writer) wonders, how much trouble the other guy got into…. On June 20, 1953, he married his wife Nancy (nee Wangerin) of Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee. It was on the third date he popped the question. The first date was a blind one his brother and brother’s girlfriend set up. They honeymooned in the nearly finished cabin Nancy’s parents were still building, in Northern Minnesota. Ensuing years their three children, Carin, Dale, and Julie, were at the cabin shortly after they were born. Many of their grand, and great-grand children have spent their vacation at the cabin on East Bearskin Lake. The senior Wangerins and their families have been there since the late 1940’s. One of the most interesting projects there was raising the first cabin, now called the bunkhouse, off of the ground. Forest regulations, after a number of years, would not allow the building to be on the ground. It was either raise it, or take it down. It was raised using nearby trees to suspend it; Nancy did the ‘heavy’ lifting! Cement piers were built, and a box floor was added. The building was lowered – almost a perfect match! One other project (Dave chose to have) was filling the pot holes on the gravel road. Going to a nearby gravel pit and filling up the trailer, then back to the lake road to fill all the potholes. The kids and grand kids got roped into helping and a family affair was born, and passed down.
He was hired to work for Silver Steel Co. by Irv Silver, for which he and his family were forever grateful. He worked there for 34 years never missing a day’s work due to illness. He also worked 6 years for Parker Pioneer Corp., who bought out Silver Steel, and never missed a day with them also.
He and his family enjoyed summer camping from the east coast to the west coast, visiting National Parks, historical sights, and partaking in activities not common to Racine. Dave enjoyed taking care of his home and their (acquired from Nancy’s parents) cabin, in the Superior National Forest, on a lake adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, where there was lake fishing for bass, northern, and walleye. Near by streams provided him brook trout fishing, his greatest enjoyment of that area. Back home, on his ½ acre lot, his vegetable garden was his pride and joy. He spread this enjoyment to his children, who (had to) (grudgingly) help him with it. This lasted until 1 or 2 years after fully owning the cabin with his wife, and they spent their entire summers there. For many years, Dave owned only an antique hand push lawn mower. Great exercise! He enjoyed telling his eldest daughter’s new boyfriends, that if they wanted to continue dating her, they had to cut the lawn for him. One look at that mower, and the size of the yard, well, needless to say, it was their final date. All but one hightailed it out of there.
David also took great pride in helping Nancy’s parents, with their Christmas tree farm between New Albin and Lansing, in northeastern Iowa, and eventually taking it over when it got to be too much for her folks to do it. Some pine trees could be trimmed in spring, and some had to be trimmed in the fall; grass had to be cut (sometimes it was like mowing hay!). The property has a (now historical) one room schoolhouse the family stayed in. Some furnishings were still there when purchased, and later a restoration project acquired them. A wood burning school house stove, at (the teacher’s) end of the room was the only source of heat. A refrigerator, tiny stove/oven, and lights were run off a propane tank. The Mississippi river has many bluffs, on each side, and so did this 40 acre parcel of land. One had to walk up a good hill to hand pump fresh water, and carry it down the hill to the schoolhouse, where it had so sit for a while before using it to let the sand settle. The property initially had both a boy’s, and a girl’s, outhouse, but one was too unsafe to sit in. It also was a good morel mushroom, and raspberry area. Anyways, as for the trees, they were hand cut to the order – the height, girth, and needle length. The trees were cut during Thanksgiving. Nancy’s mother would make an entire Thanksgiving feast on that tiny stove, and it was the only time it got really hot in that one room, during cold weather. When the school was built, straw was put in the walls for insulation, but after so many years, it naturally biodegraded, giving room for bats to exist in. This writer watched, on several occasions, the bats leaving the building at dusk, from the top corner of the wall and roof. Anyways, the trees, now cut and lined up, had to be pulled through a 55 gallon (cardboard?) drum, to squeeze the branches together for tying them down, for easier stacking and transporting. Sometimes the snow had to be shook off and out of the tree first. When that cold, the trees didn’t want to bend to fold up to a smaller size. Made for hard work. Dave would borrow a truck from work to carry all the trees back home. Never a commercial business, the trees were individually delivered to the customer and placed in their tree stand. Dave, or his son, would proudly present the tree, untied and held up for their inspection, always having their arm through the one flawed ‘hole’ every natural tree might have. No one ever rejected their tree. Some would even get a bonus abandoned bird nest, at no extra charge! The price for all this work, was, ready for it? One dollar a foot (of tree)! Imagine getting a wide, 8 foot tree today for only $8.00! Dave loved this place, and on a couple occasions, the family went back there just to have another look (of course enjoying the fall foliage and getting apples at Gays Mills, along the way).
At the age of 15, he joined the Junior Optimist Club of Racine, where he learned to correctly play basketball and softball. He was elected secretary-treasurer and president, and was a member of two basketball championships. A temporary member of Horlick’s B squad, and later, a member of Silver Steel’s Classic League and city championship team. In his athletic career he played recreational basketball until he was 60 years old when the program was discontinued.
As a member of the Junior Baseball League, he pitched the former Central Assn. Team to the National League championship, and the championship game against the American champs. He played baseball for 15 years and was a player and manager of the former City Auto Body team which won three Senior Men’s City League championships. In his career he pitched a no hit no run, and a no hit game. Along with his brother Richard, he also played 12 inch fast pitch, and 12 inch slow pitch. Winners in both. Dave also played 16 inch slow pitch winners, with Young Radiator, Silver Steel Co., and city champs, DeMarks Bar and DeMarks OTHG teams. At 70 years old, and after 50 consecutive years, he stopped playing softball to take care of their cabin. He never missed any games due to illness or injury, although he probably should have. He even played the day after a hernia re-fix surgery!
David coached: YMCA Little League football (he had later found out that Sam Azarian had put lead weights in his son’s {Tony} pockets, to have him play in a ‘higher’ football league. He was one tough kid!); basketball; baseball; umpired; coached adult women’s Walker Mfg team; and also preteen girls basketball where one of his granddaughters played. And in keeping with year round sports, he also bowled. He was a bowling secretary for 25 years, and bowled numerous league championships. The number of trophies acquired for all of the aforementioned sports, are too numerous to count! Yet proudly hung on to.
David’s sister Alice, had done some research looking for relatives in Lithuania, as both their parents emigrated from there. She was successful in finding her fathers side of the family. Dave traveled there on four different occasions to meet them, and to tour the country, National Parks, and significant sights. Each time he brought different family members along for the experience, and was the official interpreter.
He had a number of hobbies. Building balsa wood airplanes (where he scolded his little cousins if they dared to touch them) and visiting the EAA Experimental Aircraft shows, reading, particularly Louis L’Amour and other westerns novels; a HUGE fan of the original Star Trek, the spin offs, and the movies; sketching, water color painting, ceramics, upholstery, and repairing whatever was broken. Willing to give a helping hand where ever needed. One year while his daughter was working at McDonalds, McD was a sponsor of the Flintstones movie. Dave had a big hand in helping her transform the restaurant into the Flintstones’ home, and land. He took great pride in the dinosaur cut outs that hung on the walls, and a giant Pteradactyl hung from the ceiling. He spent the entire night helping put up all the Bedrock area. Another year, when his daughter worked at a factory (and Dave also worked there part time while ‘retired’), he helped her, after hours, convert the break room into a tropical beach side setting. On the last night, he go too tired to continue. His daughter had to PROMISE to NOT ruin the pelican he hadn’t given the final touches to, to finish the project. He was greatly relieved when he saw it the next morning at work. And one of his greatest excitements came on July 4, 1999. Known as the Big Blow Down, a derecho wind touched down at the cabin area. His son Dale was on the lake with his in-laws from Texas, showing them the sights. He did not like the looks of the sky and hurried back to the cabin. Running up from the dock, the storm hit, and a couple of trees came down near him! It took the lake colony 2 days to cut out the trees on the one lane road. But Dave spent the entire summer helping the 20 cabins residents on the lake, and at least clearing their driveways so they could get to their cabins when they arrived. Being in the Superior National Forest, there was a superior number of trees that were felled. After that he helped anyone who asked, to help them clear their property, having good experience with a chain saw, and being mindful of the forest service’s warning about tree catapults.
David was proceeded in death by his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, his two brothers, Richard and Stephen, and their wives Shirley and Darla, brother-in-law Ronald Wangerin and his wife Judith and their son David, sister-in-law Katherine Wangerin, one great grandchild, his wife Nancy of 70 years, and his loving dog Mandy, of 17 years.
He is survived by his children, Carin (Greg) Spalla, of Seymore, IN; Dale (Valla) Kizewic, of Aledo, TX, Julie (Robert) Wynstra, of Racine, WI, and his sisters Alice Kizewic, of Sturtevant, WI, and Eunice Beach of LA, CA; brother-in-law Clark Wangerin of Brookfield, WI, 7 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, God children; and his loving dog Storm, his angel who helped him through the depression of losing his sight, and gave him a reason to get up every day. She stepped right in, and knew she was here for him, and became his service dog, without any training.
His celebration of life will be held along with his wife’s, at the funeral home, on June 8. Visitation at 11, service at 12. It is his children’s wish for you to help celebrate, by wearing Favre/Packers for Dave, and purple for Nancy. You are also invited to take the opportunity to stand and speak your memories of either or both, during the service.
In lieu of flowers. Dave would appreciate donations to the following: St. Jude, The Optimist Club, and to the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Dept., of Grand Marais, MN. www.gunflint911.org for online donation, or donate by check to Gunflint Trail Fire Dept, 7410 Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais, MN 55604. They do suggest printing and filling out their donation form from their website, and mailed with the check.
Following the service, please join the family for a luncheon. Held at Racine Instinctive Bowmen, 14403 50th Rd., Sturtevant.
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