Kenneth Mickelson, age 95, of Whitewater, died on Saturday, March 30, 2013, at the Rainbow Hospice Care Center in Johnson Creek.
He was born in Janesville on March 14, 1918, the son of Nels and Leora (Kettle) Mickelson.
He married Mary “Lillian” Keeter on Dec. 8, 1938, and she preceded him in death in 2009.
Ken loved to golf and was a longtime member of the Whitewater Country Club. He was a very good bowler who participated in the leagues in Whitewater, and bowled on the traveling teams. He was a big Green Bay Packers fan, especially Brett Favre, and the old Lombardi teams.
Ken and his wife ran the K&L Café in Edgerton in the 1940s. He later farmed and ran Mickelson Implement, a (John Deere Dealership) in Whitewater from 1952 to 1966. He sold his last farm in 1973, and bought an apartment house that he rented to University of Whitewater students in Whitewater from 1973 to 1998. Ken loved to speculate on commodities and helped his son who is a commodity broker in Whitewater.
He is survived by his two sons, Gerald of Janesville and Gary of Whitewater; as well as many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Lillian; parents, Nels and Leora; stepfather, George Ward; three brothers, Nelson “Roy” Mickelson, Harley Ward, and David “Bud” Ward; and three sisters, Lila Mae “Toots” Hammer, Joy Millar, and Ardith Keenlance.
A Funeral Service will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, 2013, at Schneider Apfel Schneider & Schneider Funeral Home & Crematory with the Rev. Steve R. Hanson officiating. Interment will be in Oak Hill Cemetery. A visitation will be held on Thursday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to the Rainbow Hospice Care Center at Johnson Creek.
For online condolences and registry, visit www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com.
A special thanks to the nurses at Fort Memorial Hospital, and the nurses and staff at Rainbow Hospice Care Center, Johnson Creek.
