Former Waubeka chief remembered for contributions to fire department

Without Tom Bublitz, the Waubeka Fire Department, and especially its fire station, would be quite different.

Bublitz, a longtime Waubeka firefighter and former chief, died Saturday, Dec. 28, his family announced.

Bublitz, 76, spent 54 years with the department.

He joined the department in March 1965 and rose through the ranks, becoming chief in 1982 until 1989, when he retired.

From 1990 until 2011, he was a department trustee. In 2006, he achieved the rank of active life membership.

“He certainly will be missed around the firehouse,” current Fire Chief Jason Caswell said. “He was pretty active right up until about a month ago.”

An addition to the firehouse was completed in 1984 and overseen by Bublitz during his tenure as chief.

“He had a big influence on the department,” said Caswell, who first met Bublitz in 1994 when he joined the department. 

“He had a pretty big impact on how the department grew. He was very mindful of how money was being spent and what projects were being taken on,” he said.

Bublitz lived in Saukville and operated a family plumbing business.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Newburg.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3, at Eernisse Funeral Home in Port Washington and from 10 a.m. at the church until the time of the funeral on Saturday.

A fire department walk-through will take  place during the visitation Friday. Firefighters are asked to arrive by 6:30 p.m.

A complete obituary appears on page 11B.