Obituaries

LA CROSSE/CROSS PLAINS–Michael J. Grosse, 66, lost his courageous battle with cancer on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. Mike was born on June 5, 1955, in Madison, the fourth of five children of Wilbert and Lucille (Kuehn) Grosse. He was raised on the family farm near Martinsville, where he grew to love nature and the outdoors. He graduated from Middleton High School in 1973. He worked a variety of jobs in the construction industry where he learned to build and fix anything and everything.

In 1980, Mike met the love of his life, Kimberly Brooks. They were married on Oct. 19, 1985, and together they raised their two daughters in the home he built for them. In 1986, after earning his degree in electronics, he began his employment at Tracor Northern (Thermo Fisher Scientific) as an electronics technician until he retired in 2013.

MIDDLETON–Elizabeth "Betty" M. Ahlstedt, 6430 Pheasant Lane, Middleton, passed away on Jan. 26, 2022 at the age of 100. 

She was born Elizabeth Schrade on Feb. 16, 1921 at St. Mary's Hospital in Orange, NJ. She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Thure Edward Ahlstedt Jr., a Navy radio technician veteran of World War II., on Dec. 30, 1994 in Wilson, NC. 

Elizabeth is survived by her beloved daughter Deborah Ann Ahlstedt of Marquette, MI, her son Steven C. (Helen) of Ramsey, NJ; a granddaughter, Mary Ellen (Erik) Endress of Ramsey, NJ, and two great-grandchildren, Griffin Endress of Boston, MA. and Jillian Endress of Ramsey, NJ; as well as her very dear friend, Michael Breunig of Middleton.

No services for Elizabeth were held. Informed Choice Funeral Home, 3325 E. Washington Ave., in Madison, served the family. Memorials may be made to Middleton Outreach Ministry, 3502 Parmenter St., Middleton, Wis. 53562.

John Rahman

MIDDLETON–John Rahman passed away on March 5, 2022. He was born the son of Ed and Marion Rahman in 1946, and was raised on the family farm in Elgin, MN, with his two sisters and three brothers.  

Following graduation from Elgin High School, John attended Winona State University, where he studied industrial arts and education. While at Winona State, he also exceled at running both cross country and track and competed nationally in the NCAA Cross Country Championship. It was also there that John, “the fastest (running) man on campus,” met the love of his life, Judy Jones, on the dance floor. 

DEFOREST–Thomas G. Grosse, 70, of DeForest, passed away peacefully at his home on January 31, 2022. 

Tom was born at Madison General Hospital on September 5, 1951 in Madison. to Wilbert and Lucille (Kuehn) Grosse. He grew up on the family farm in rural Cross Plains and graduated from Middleton High School in 1969. Tom served in the Army Reserves from 1969 until 1976.

On June 6, 2004, Tom married the love of his life, Colleen Wilde, in Bear Valley. He was a lifelong builder, eventually becoming a general contractor of his own company, Trend Construction in DeForest.

MIDDLETON–Astor A. Garcia, affectionately known as “Tochy”, with family and friends, was born on April 23, 1959, to Susana Torralbas Garcia and Astor Garcia in Holguin, Cuba. Astor emigrated from Cuba to the United States during the Freedom Flight missions in 1966. He proudly received his United States citizenship in 1987.

Astor graduated from South Miami High School in 1977 and then went on to graduate in 1982 from the University of Florida, with a degree in Psychology. While attending the University of Florida, Astor became a Sigma Chi brother and a UF cheerleader. He went on to judge National Cheerleading competitions.

CROSS PLAINS–Stella Dresen, 87, passed away peacefully on March 3, 2022, at her home, surrounded by family. Stella was born on March 23, 1934, in Middleton, to Bernice and Clarence Breunig. 

Stella graduated from Middleton High School and began working at Madison Gas & Electric, where she met her future husband, Richard “Dick” Dresen. They were united in marriage on April 22, 1961, and settled in Cross Plains, where they built their home on Hickory Street, raised their family and enjoyed being part of the Cross Plains community. Stella and Dick enjoyed 55 years of marriage, until his passing on Nov. 14, 2016.

Her love of children inspired Stella to become a daycare provider for many years. She was fortunate to remain close to many of those families and was proud of the amazing adults they had become. She would often comment after their visits, “so many of my kids sure did well for themselves.”   

MIDDLETON - Gloria J. Darragh, 92, of Middleton, passed away on Feb. 26, 2022, at Waunakee Manor. She was born on Jan. 26, 1930, in Cedar Rapids, IA, the daughter of James and Jeannie (Usher) Taylor.

Gloria graduated from Coe College in Cedar Rapids in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts. She enjoyed traveling around the world, especially to Nepal and Thailand. She had a love of animals and enjoyed seeing ones from other countries, but she loved her cats and dogs the most. Gloria was a proud gardener, avid reader and crossword puzzle enthusiast. She enjoyed the holidays and decorating. She was kind and touched the lives of many people with her friendly demeanor and smile. Gloria was very active in the Episcopal church and was involved in P.E.O. She was a resilient woman and overcame many physical adversities during her life. Gloria adored spending time with her grandchildren more than anything and moved twice to be close to them.

CROSS PLAINS–Richard Roberts Fayram, 73, of Cross Plains, passed away on Feb. 10, 2022 at home surrounded by family following a two year challenge with neuroendocrine tumors. He was born in Flint, MI, the son of Jerome and Gwen Fayram. He married Elizabeth Stockwell on June 19, 1971. They had two sons, Nathan and Justin.

Dick attended the University of Michigan where he met Liz. He earned a BS in Landscape Architecture at Michigan State and did graduate work at UW-Madison. He worked as a Landscape Architect at firms in the Chicago area, Rockford, and at UW-Madison. He was proud of his work on the Rockford Sportscore Complex and the UW Campus Master Plan. His landscape designs often featured native plants.

Dick, Liz and the young boys moved from Rockford, joining Dick’s brother David and his family in Madison. Gwen joined them there after she retired. Many events, holidays and family dinners were spent together.

MIDDLETON–Veronica Mary “Ronnie” (O’Connell) Weber, 95, of Middleton, passed away on Feb. 12, 2022, at Ingleside Manor. She was born on May 18, 1926, in Vermont Township, the daughter of David and Frances (Handel) O'Connell. She married Wayne F. Weber on June 21, 1950, at St. James Catholic Church.

Ronnie attended Edgewood College for two years and graduated from UW-Madison with a BS in Education. She took great pride in teaching home economics and spent the majority of her career at Middleton High School. Ronnie had a love of quilting, knitting, playing cards and going to the casino, and she could always be counted on to attend her kids’ and grandkids’ sporting events.

MOUNT HOREB–Barbra Ann Williamson (Olson/Covert) was born to Richard and Betty (Wiberg) Covert in Chicago, IL on March 5, 1957. She spent her childhood days with her four loving and adventurous siblings, Bonnie, Rick, Ron, and Becky. They all remained a close support system for one another throughout their adult lives and shared many great experiences.

Barb graduated from James Madison Memorial High School in 1975. At age 19, Barb married Knute S. Olson of Oregon. They both worked hard, enjoyed nature, camping, music, travel and their two daughters, Angie and Emily. In 1993 they parted ways, but always made their children a priority.