Wayne G. Waldhart

          Wayne George Waldhart, 78, of Rib Falls, WI, joined his wife Laurie in heaven on February 18, 2024 in Wausau, WI. He was born on August 12, 1945, to Raymond (Shorty) and Lucille Waldhart. Wayne graduated from Wausau High School in May of 1962.

          Wayne leaves behind his son Scott (Debbie) Waldhart, and daughter Shannon (Brad) Rybarczyk, grandchildren, Greyson (Charmaine) Waldhart of Portland, OR, Kade (Ben Pritchett) Waldhart of Wausau, WI, Danny (Joey Krohlow) Koplitz of Menlo Park, CA, and Hailey (Carter) Abitz of Stratford, WI, and one great grandson, Hayden Waldhart of Wausau, WI. He is also survived by his brother Ralph (Mary) Waldhart of Wausau, WI, sister Rochelle (Kim) Hefner of Minneapolis, MN, sisters-in-law, Carol Hettinga of Schofield, WI, and Charolette (John) Fust of Wausau, WI, as well as many cousins, including his ‘adopted’ Herb and Marie Waldhart family, nieces, nephews and special life-long friends, Jerry and Lois Russ.

          Wayne and Laurie were married November 4th, 1967 at St. Annes Catholic Church in Wausau, WI. Shortly after, they ventured in the bar business, Laurie and Wayne’s Northside Bar in Colby, WI. Wayne then worked for Connor Forest Industries, Marathon Rubber Products Co. and Federal Mogul all in the Wausau area. He also worked as a travel agent in his retirement years.

          Wayne was passionate in many aspects of his life including his steadfast faith in our Lord and Savior. He enjoyed researching and documenting everyone’s family trees. He liked to tell stories, jokes, and sing songs with “substituted lyrics”. He took “dad” jokes to another level. But his greatest accomplishment was his family. There was nothing that could stand in his way when it came to his children or grandchildren. He has shown all who knew him what unconditional love was. He adored his family and loved spending time with all of them. You could see the glimmer in his eyes whenever he looked at them or spoke about them.  

          In 1976, with encouragement from his wife Laurie (“you need to spend more time with your son”), he volunteered to be Assistant Cubmaster with the newly chartered Pack 427 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church. On the day of the first official meeting of Pack 427, Wayne was “volun-told” that he will be the Cubmaster, which started the legend of Wayne Waldhart, the Scouter. His leadership, integrity, and empathy were evident throughout his life as a respected volunteer in the Scouting program and the community. He held so many titles in scouting over the years, Cubmaster, Assistant Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, District Chairperson, and so on (too many to list), and was awarded and recognized with numerous nominations, awards, and certificates (also too many to list).

          He always had the best interest of the youth in those scouting (boy & girl) programs to help develop them into good, upstanding young men and women. Wayne always volunteered to help anyone at any given time and was rewarded with long time friendships throughout all those years that he held dear to his heart.

                   Wayne was preceded in death by the love of his life, Laurie. His parents, father and mother-in-law Lou and Florence Meysembourg, brothers, and sisters-in-law; Betty Kolokowski, David Hettinga, Jim Merklien, and Judy Merklien.

                  Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 2, 2024 at Mountain of the Lord Lutheran Church, 224650 Bittersweet Road, Wausau.  Rev. Andy DeGier will officiate.  Visitation will be Friday, March 1, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and again on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until time of service all at Mountain of the Lord Lutheran Church, Wausau.

Don’t cry for me. I will be OK, heaven is my home now and this is where I’ll stay.

Don’t cry for me. I am where I belong. I want you to be happy and please stay strong.

Don’t cry for me. It finally was my time, but I will see you someday on the other side.

Don’t cry for me. I am not alone, Laurie’s with me now to welcome me home.

Don’t cry for me, for I have no fear. All my pain is gone, and Jesus took my tears.

Don’t cry for me. This is not the end. I’ll be waiting here for you when we meet again.

Special request-Anyone who knew our dad, knew he loved telling his stories. We are requesting anyone with a photo or favorite memory, bring it along with to either the visitation or funeral, to then be placed in a ‘Legacy’ book for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren so his stories can live on.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com