John James Artus

John James Artus, 65, Marathon, went to be with our Lord Wednesday, November 14 , 2018, surrounded by his loving family at Mayo St. Mary's, Rochester, Minnesota.

He was born November 23, 1952 son of the late John L. and Leila (Voigt) Artus and grew up on the family farm in the Town of Stettin.  He was a graduate of Marathon High School and earned an Associate’s Degree in Management from North Central Technical College.

On July 10, 1982 he married Diane (Rauen) Artus at St. Mary's Church in Marathon being grateful for 36 wonderful years together.

John was a loving and devoted husband, father, brother, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, father-in-law and friend. He loved his grandchildren with all his being and his favorite thing was to pick them up after school and daycare and take them for ice cream at McDonald's. John liked to be in the kitchen baking and cooking for family gatherings and work parties. Family was so very important to him.. He loved get togethers, enjoying good food and great conversation and in his preparation no detail was missed.  John loved the water and spending time at Lake Somo in Tomahawk.  He enjoyed hosting numerous foreign exchange students from Germany and Spain. He still maintained contact with each of them and recently enjoyed an amazing trip to Germany.  John was a dedicated lifelong member of the Rib Falls United Methodist Church and loved to sing in his small country church. He also sang with the St. Mary's Worship Hymn and Cantata groups. John loved music!  He was extremely dedicated and proud to work at Marathon Cheese Corporation for 47 years. He loved to talk “Marathon Cheese” with anyone he met. He took great pride in his “second” job within the Marathon School District as a custodian for many years.  His strong faith in God lead him to be the kind, caring, compassionate and loving man that he was. John was the “calm in the storm” for many people with always a patient and listening ear and encouraging words to express, “it would be ok.”

Survivors include his loving wife of 36 years, Diane. 4 children James (Wendy) Rauen, Ashley (Jay) Hammerstrom, Chelsey Artus and Lesley Artus all of Marathon.  Grandchildren Angelica and Joseph Rauen, Brexton King, Ty and Aly Hammerstrom, Jordin (Morgan) Aschbrenner and Jaye Zastrow all of Marathon. One great grandchild Levi Aschbrenner. Siblings Janis Artus, Jayne (James) Seeger, Jerry (Sally) Artus, Judy (Randy) DeBroux, and Jeff (Cindy) Artus. Mother-in-law Barbara Rauen, Brother and Sister-in-laws Donna (Mike) Kaiser, Duane (Barb) Rauen and Doreen (Mark) Johnson. Niece and nephews Jodi (Ryan) DeBroux, Justin (Traci) Seeger, Cody Raymond, Jeff, Jordan and Emily Artus.  As well as many other loved nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents John L. and Leila Artus, one infant son, John Matthew Artus, father-in-law Joseph Rauen and brother-in-law Robert Schmidlkofer.

Visitation will be on Tuesday evening, November 20, 2018 from 4:00 until 8:00 p.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church in Marathon.  Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 21, 2018 at Rib Falls United Methodist Church, 154 E. 19th Street, Marathon (Town of Rib Falls).  Rev. Tim Gurlea will officiate.  Burial will be in St. Mary Cemetery, Marathon.  Visitation on Wednesday will be from 9:00 a.m. until time of services at the Rib Falls United Methodist Church.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at Mayo St. Mary’s Mary Brigh critical care unit 4D and 5G for the wonderful care and support extended to John and his family over the last 3 weeks.

Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, Marathon is in charge of arrangements.  Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com