Harvey Wester

Harvey F. Wester was a devout man who was dedicated to his family and his church,  Divine Savior Catholic Parish.

Mr. Wester and his wife Kay handled funeral luncheons and Mass preparations for almost 40 years.

Mr. Wester was also an usher and helped with maintenance at Holy Cross Church and School.

Like his father, Mr. Wester was a painter and he painted the church and rectory.

“He was a religious man,” his wife said.

Mr. Wester died of heart failure at his Fredonia home on Friday, Sept. 27. He was 91.

A native of the Town of Belgium, Mr. Wester was born on May 25, 1928, to Milton and Mary Folz Wester.

He was raised in the Holy Cross area and graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Port Washington. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy shortly after graduation.

Mr. Wester was a patriotic man who was a member of the Melvin Wester American Legion Post 412 in Belgium, which was named after his brother, who died in action while serving in Korea.

A member of the Flag Day Foundation, he was a supporter of the Americanism Center in Fredonia.

Mr. Wester was a foreman at Tecumseh Products in Grafton until he retired in 1990.

While working at the company, he met Kathryn “Kay” Laufer Zimdars. The couple married at the Ozaukee County Courthouse on April 8, 1972.

He enjoyed nature and enjoyed drawing scenes from nature, particularly pictures of ducks. The drawings were, in some ways, his signature, his wife said.

While at Tecumseh, Mr. Wester would draw large-scale pictures of ducks as a sign whenever someone had a birthday, she said, adding co-workers would gather around the signs to sing Happy Birthday.

“That’s how good a boss he was,” his wife said. “He was a wonderful person. Everybody liked Harvey.

“He was one of a kind. He was a very caring person. I don’t think he had a mean bone in his body.”

Mr. Wester was an athlete who played baseball well enough to try out for the Major Leagues. He also bowled several times a week in his younger years.

Mr. Wester is survived by his wife Kay of Fredonia, children Kurt (Carrie) of Waukeka, Debby (Dennis) Gruve of Fredonia and Jill (Scott) Wester of West Bend; stepchildren Allen (Diane) Zimdars of Random Lake and Gail (Jerry) Keller of Cedar Grove; seven grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

He is further survived by his brothers and sisters-in-law Gene (Glenda) Laufer of Princeton, Sandy (Tony) Blake of Los Angeles, and Bev Winkler, Jim Laufer and Shirley Laufer, all of West Bend.
    Mr. Wester was preceded in death by his parents, brother Melvin, sister Mary Jane Zwickey, sisters-in-law Doris Backes, Noreen Laufer and Sandy Laufer; brothers-in-law Dan Backes, John Winkler, Tom Laufler and Glen Zwickey; and granddaughter Abigayle Wester.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6, at Divine Savior Parish, Holy Cross Chapel in the Town of Belgium. Military honors will follow the service.

The funeral will be concelebrated by fathers Guy Gurath, Jim Ernster, Dick Fleischmann and Howie Johnson.

Visitation will be at the church Sunday from 1 to 3:45 p.m.

A walk-through for members of the Melvin Wester Memorial American Legion Post 412 in Belgium will be held at 3:30 p.m.

Memorials are suggested to the National Flag Day Foundation, Divine Savior School, Melvin Wester Memorial American Legion Post 412 or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Funeral arrangements are being handled through Eernisse Funeral Home.