Christopher Bichler

Longtime school administrator, teacher and coach, Christopher J. Bichler, died at his home in Random Lake on May 3, after a two and a half year battle with cancer. He was 53.

Mr. Bichler was born on Sept. 26, 1965, in Port Washington to Nicholas and MaryAnn Last Bichler.  

He graduated as salutatorian from Random Lake High School in 1984 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Beloit College in 1988 and his master’s in education in 1989. He earned his principalship certificate in 2000 from  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Mr. Bichler enjoyed a 29-year career in education with 25 years as a teacher, teaching high school history and math, beginning in Auburndale and continuing in the Random Lake public school system in 1991, where he introduced advanced placement history to Random Lake High School.

In Auburndale, he met Kathy Giesegh, another teacher. They married in 1993 in Las Vegas, after he took the position at Random Lake.

He was Random Lake High School principal for four years from 2000 through 2004 but chose to go back to teaching, his wife said.

“He missed teaching and he loved the contact with the kids,” Kathy Bichler said. “Administration is a different animal. He realized how much he missed the classroom. Teaching was his passion.”

He also was the high school athletic director for eight years and coached various sports, including 16 years as head football coach, 14 years as head golf coach, seven years as head wrestling coach, one year as head boys basketball coach, two years as an assistant football coach and one year as an assistant boys basketball coach.

Mr. Bichler led the Rams football team to seven conference championships and one state runner up in 1998.

He and his wife enjoyed golfing, traveling to play as many courses during the summer months as they could, she said.

“We were each other’s golf companions,” she said. “There are so many beautiful courses in the area, we played all of them. We often went to the Dells and we traveled down to Branson (Mo.) at times.”

Mr. Bichler’s hobbies included what he called  “destroying wood” — building various pieces of furniture and picture frames.

More recently he discovered cooking as a hobby and was a fan of many cooking shows, including “The Pioneer Woman” and “Drive-ins, Diners and Dives,” his wife said.

“He more loved watching the cooking shows but sometimes he tried making something for me,” she said.

Mr. Bichler is survived by his wife and parents; brother Pat (Ann) of Sheboygan; sister Jody (Tom) Bley of Iowa; mother-in-law Shirley Toellner of Mayville; brothers-in-law Tom Giesegh of West Allis and Greg (Pam) Giesegh of California; sisters-in-law Mary Gospavic of Watertown, Peggy (Gary) Mielke of Florida and Michelle Jones of New York.

He was preceded in death by his brother-in-law, Howard Jones.  

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, at Our Lady of the Lakes – St. Nicholas Chapel, W4274 County Road K, Dacada.

Father Richard Cerpich will preside.

The family will also receive visitors from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 13, at Eernisse Funeral Home in Port Washington,and from 4 p.m. until the time of the funeral at the church.

A private burial will take place at St. Nicholas Cemetery.