Sally J. Jennings, 95 of Medford, passed away on Sunday, August 27, 2023 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

A funeral service for Sally will take place at 10:30 AM on Thursday, August 31, 2023 at Hemer-Pickerign Funeral Home in Medford, with Pastors Paul Woods and Josh Kohl officiating. Burial will take place at Riverside Cemetery in Ladysmith at 2:30 PM. Visitation will take place at the funeral home on Thursday, August 31, 2023 from 9:30 AM until the time of service at 10:30 AM.

Sally was born on October 30, 1927 in Spirit Lake, Iowa to Roy and Edna (Thompson) Holmes. At 2 weeks old her family moved to Wisconsin and they bought a farm near Tony, WI. She graduated from Tony High School in 1945. She then went to Milwaukee to work. In Milwaukee she met her classmate’s older brother, George Jennings and they married on September 12, 1945. She returned to Ladysmith as a war bride when George went to serve in WW2.

When he returned from the Marines they moved back to Milwaukee, where she worked at Kiekhaefer Marine, which later became Mercury Marine. They returned to the Ladysmith area to dairy farm. When her husband became a disabled veteran, she farmed by herself. She then worked at Kent’s Hardware and Ladysmith Nursing Home. She went back to college and graduated from Taylor County Teacher’s College in 1970. She continued her education and graduated from UW Eau Claire in 1977. She then taught 4th grade at Medford area schools.

Sally is survived by her sister, Faye Kreuger of Colfax; son, John (Jewel) Jennings of Mosinee; daughter, Cindy (Roger) Boehlen of Medford; grandsons, Keith (Laurie) Jennings of Garland, TX, Jay (Jennifer) Jennings of Black River Falls, Scott (Lori) Jennings of Ringle, Douglas Boehlen of Stetsonville, Kenn (Jennifer) Boehlen of Medford; granddaughter, Nicky Boehlen of Medford; great-grandsons, Gavin, Andrew, and Dayton; step-grandchildren, Garrick (Sheila) DeMeyer and Katie (Adam) Eberle; step-great-grandchildren, Isabella, Emma, Lewis, Grant, Chelsea, and Marissa; brother-in-law, Jay LeRoy Jennings of California.

Sally was preceded in death by her parents, husband, George in 1997; sisters, Alberta (Paul) Yearwood, Alice (Don) Matthews, and Edna Peterson; brother, James (Patty) Holmes.

Hemer-Pickerign Funeral & Cremation Services of Medford and Rib Lake is serving the family. Please visit www.hemerfuneralservice.com to share condolences online.

Dennis Michael Makovsky Sr., age 69, of Medford, passed away unexpectedly at his home Saturday, August 19, 2023. 

A Funeral Mass for Dennis will take place at 12:00 PM on Thursday, August 24, 2023 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, with Father Patrick McConnell officiating. Visitation will take place at Holy Rosary Catholic Church on Thursday, August 24, 2023 from 11:00 AM until the time of service at 12:00 PM. Burial will be Friday, August 25th at the Catawba Catholic Cemetery at 11:00 AM.  Pallbearers will be grandson Brendon, son-in-law Earl, (almost) son-in-law Matt, nephews Dustin and Kevin, and friend Kevin. 

Dennis was born on April 27, 1954.  He attended the Catawba-Kennan, WI schools and was the first of his family to graduate high school, Phillips High. 

Dennis and his family lived in Kennan, WI for many years and he strived to work hard to support his family, often working multiple jobs at once.  At a young age he and his father started the Makovsky Gravel and Bulldozing Business together, which was his pride for many years.  For the past 28 years, he owned and operated the Pot Belly Pub in Downtown Whittlesey, which he ran with the help of his daughter Bobbi Jo and his girlfriend, Missy for the last many years.

For the last five years, Dennis took on a love of travel, where he and Missy took cross-country trips to visit his daughter Amy and husband Earl while he was stationed at various locations, and to take on every adventure they could find.  Dennis would light up when talking about their adventures!

Dennis is survived by his girlfriend of 13 years, Missy Rast, his two daughters, Bobbi Jo Dassow (boyfriend Matt Stiel) and Amy Barnes (husband Earl Ray Barnes III), his two grandchildren Brendon (girlfriend Teyona) and McKenna (fiancé Mason), and his great-grandson Aidyn.  His is also survived by six brothers, Ron Makovsky (Marge), Dan Makovsky (Florence), Larry Makovsky (Kathy), Rick Makovsky (Cheryl), Dave Makovsky, and Bill Makovsky (Becky), and four sisters, Diana Timmers, Donna Karas-his fraternal twin, Mary Jean Peterson (Lester), and Bonnie Martin, and also by a great many nieces and nephews.

Dennis was predeceased by his 5-year-old son, Dennis (Denny) Michael Makovsky Jr., who was the light of his life and Dennis would visit Denny’s gravesite in Catawba nearly every Sunday.  He was also predeceased by his parents, Joseph and Lucille Makovsky, his brother Raymond Makovsky, his sister Joanne Calhoun, his son-in-law, Doug Dassow, and numerous other family members.

Hemer-Pickerign Funeral & Cremation Services of Medford and Rib Lake is serving the family. Please visit www.hemerfuneralservice.com to share condolences online.

Melissa L. Becker, 44, of Medford, passed away on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at Aspirus Hospital in Wausau after a courageous battle with cancer.

A Celebration of Life for Melissa will be held on Sunday, August 27 from 12 – 5 p.m. at the Centennial Hall in Stetsonville, with a prayer service at 2:30 p.m. led by Rev. Robert Giese.  A meal will follow.

A private burial will be held at a later date at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Cemetery in Holway.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated and will be designated at a later date.

Melissa was born May 18, 1979 in Medford to Duane and Deborah (Dehne) Larson.  She graduated from Medford High School, with the class of 1997.

Melissa was employed at Weather Shield's Millwork division for the past 4 years, where she worked in the metal cutting department.  Previous to this, she worked in the meat department at County Market in Medford for 15 years. 

She also helped clean at the Centennial Hall in Stetsonville as needed.

She will be remembered as a hard worker and loved helping others.  She cherished time spent with family, especially her two daughters whom she loved dearly.  She also enjoyed cooking and baking, cleaning, dancing, all kinds of music, Anne Geddes artwork, butterflies, dolphins, and all animals, especially her dogs, Blue and J.J., her cats, Charlie and Spot and her grandcats, Lion, Boots and Mini.  Her favorite colors were purple, black and camo.

She will be dearly missed by her two daughters, Makayla (Zach) Noll of Marshfield, Megan Becker of Medford; her parents, Duane and Deborah Larson of Medford; siblings, Lance (Amy) Dehne, James (Amanda) Larson, Nicole (Sean) Anderson, all of Medford; nephews and niece, Bret and Ryan Larson, Brock and BraeLyn Anderson; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her maternal and paternal grandparents; and a nephew, Tyler Larson.

Hemer-Pickerign Funeral & Cremation Services of Medford and Rib Lake is serving the family. Please visit www.hemerfuneralservice.com to share condolences online.

Elaine Ann (Stern) Belanger died peacefully at home in Maplehurst, Wisconsin on August 20, 2023, with family members present and under the comforting care of Hope Hospice.

She was born in Bismark, North Dakota on May 8, 1959 to Selma and Herbert Stern. She lived in the hardscrabble farming community of Halliday, North Dakota until the age of eight, when her family packed their few belongings and boarded the train to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

Elaine was always quick with a smile and generous with her time, especially with the younger generations. She enjoyed mentoring her Girl Scouts and admired founder Juliette Gordon Low and her mission to live a life of courage, confidence and character.

Elaine began her working career at the Wisconsin State Medical Society, honing her organizational skills and developing a lifelong respect for efficiency. Overseeing an office of coworkers, or just observing the movements of a restaurant wait staff, she always appreciated the flow of a smooth operation.

On June 14, 2002 she was wed to David Belanger, moved to the Medford, Wisconsin area, and joined him in the family publishing business, Countryside Publications. She was instrumental in the launching of Backyard Poultry magazine. At first reluctant, “What’s there to know about chickens?” she dove into the task with her usual vigor and was soon happy to tell you more about the types, varieties, diseases and anatomy of poultry than you ever cared to know. Backyard Poultry became a great success.

She and her husband Dave left the world of publishing and Wisconsin’s frigid winters with a move to Florida, where she spent her days working at the Key West Garden Club. Set in a crumbling brick pre-Civil War era fort right on the beach, filled with thousands of well-tended tropical plants, she would greet visitors during the day and served as a docent at weddings in the evening, often in the same long day. She liked the work and loved that she never had a grumpy “customer.” Visitors from all over the world, often on winter vacation, walked through the arched entrance with a smile.

Elaine and her family remained very close throughout her lifetime and frequent trips to Florida or Wisconsin were taken to be together. She especially looked forward to visits with her daughter Elizabeth and granddaughter Sophie.

She was an avid reader with a book (or six) always close at hand.

Survivors include her husband David Belanger, daughter Elizabeth Mueller, and granddaughter Sophie Mueller; brothers Daniel Stern (Barbara), Richard Stern (Krisanne), Kendall Stern, and Robert Stern; sisters Jeanne Jongebloed, Sharlyne Tetzlaff (Ray Kreuziger), Dorothy Janz (Pete); and 18 nieces and nephews.

Her many close lifelong friends included Donna Schuman, Jill Linde, Sherry Stern and Yvonne LaVenture-Bath.

She was preceded in death by her mother, father, and sister Autumn.

No services will take place. A Celebration of Life will be planned at a later date. 

Hemer-Pickerign Funeral & Cremation Services of Medford and Rib Lake is serving the family. Please visit www.hemerfuneralservice.com to share condolences online.

Roger L. Olsen, 88, of Nolensville, Tennessee, formerly of Rib Lake, died Sunday, August 13, 2023 in Tennessee.

Roger was born February 24, 1935 in Ashland, Wisconsin to Leon and Amy Desideria (Melstrand) Olsen.  He graduated from Rib Lake High School, served in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956, and then attended the University of Wisconsin, earning a degree in accounting.

On October 1, 1960, he married Barbara Ann Tlusty in Rib Lake.  They resided in Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Louisville, Jackson (Tennessee), Memphis, and currently in Nolensville, near Nashville.  Roger began his career as an accountant at Price-Waterhouse, continued his career with Preway, Inc. and A.O. Smith Corp., and retired from ITT American Electric as comptroller and vice-president.  He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Nashville and the American Legion.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Olsen of Nolensville, TN; three children, Robert Olsen of Annandale, NY, Thomas Olsen of Cincinnati, OH, and Karin Olsen Eggert of Nolensville, TN; a sister, Emily Olsen Navarre of Littleton, CO; and four grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Kathleen Olsen Adams and Joyce Olsen Welch.

A private burial will take place in Lakeview Cemetery, Rib Lake.

Shirley M. Haskins, 72, of Prentice, WI, passed away on Friday, August 18, 2023, at the Aspirus Wausau Hospital Pallative Care.

Shirley was born on February 20, 1951, to Roger and Audrey (Erickson) Haskins. 

Shirley graduated from Prentice High School. She enjoyed spending time with friends and volunteering. Her friends found her very courageous, giving, and kind-hearted. Shirley enjoyed her life and making the most of it. 

She is survived by her siblings, Sandra (David) Henthorn, Randy (Angi) Haskins; nieces, Micheline Haskins and Tracy (Scott) Raab; other family members and friends. 

Shirley is preceded in death by her parents. 

A private family burial will be held at a later date. Heindl-Nimsgern Funeral Home is assisting the family.