Michael Dimmer

Michael J. Dimmer loved vehicles of all types.

“Anything with two or four wheels,” his wife Terri said.

The former Port Washington resident liked old cars, especially the 1981 Chevrolet Camero that he had owned since high school and had restored.

“He took a ride in it just about three weeks ago,” his wife said.

But he also enjoyed snowmobiles, four-wheelers, dirt bikes and his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Mr. Dimmer was also known for smashing vehicles as a competitor in the Ozaukee County Fair’s demolition derby.

He enjoyed competing not just in the demo derby but also the truck pulls, and had a number of first-place trophies in his collection to show for his efforts.

Mr. Dimmer, who lived in the Town of Cedarburg, died Monday, Oct. 21, at Lawlis Family Hospice Center in Mequon. The 53-year-old had been fighting pulmonary disease for many years and was waiting for a lung transplant.

 Mr. Dimmer was born on June 6, 1966, to Judith Dimmer.

He was raised in Port Washington by his grandparents Alphonse and Wilma Dimmer and graduated from Port Washington High School.

He moved to the Town of Cedarburg in 1994 and began the building restoration firm Industrial Restoration.

Mr. Dimmer learned the business under the tutelage of his uncle Dan Dimmer before setting out on his own, his wife said.

“He was a very hard-working man,” she said, noting that among the buildings he had worked on was the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee.

Mr. Dimmer married Theresa Woolever at St. John Lutheran Church in Grafton on Aug. 16, 2003. They settled in the Town of Cedarburg.

“He was a do-anything-for-anybody kind of guy,” his wife said. “He had a good sense of humor.”

Mr. Dimmer enjoyed movies, particularly action films.

Mr. Dimmer is survived by his wife Terri; children Corey (Katherine “Nicki”) of Horicon, Kathleen “Katie” Dimmer of Appleton,  Alyssa Bruss of West Bend, Joshua Ohrt of Madison and Michaela Dimmer of Cedarburg; and seven grandchildren.

He is further survived by his brother Ray “Fritz” (Helen) Lavrenz of Kewaskum and mother-in-law Rita Woolever of Hillsboro.

He was preceded in death by his mother Judy Lavrenz and grandparents Alphonse and Wilma Dimmer.

A funeral service for Mr. Dimmer will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at Eernisse Funeral Home in Port Washington. The Rev. Paul Bulgerin will officiate.

Visitation will be at the funeral home Friday from 4 p.m. until the service.

Memorials to the American Lung Society are suggested.