Norman Herman Lemke

The family of Norman Lemke announces his passing at home on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at the age of 97 years.

Norm was born on September 29, 1921 in Gresham, WI, and lived his teen years with his loving aunt and uncle, Emil and Dorothy Barth after the untimely death of his mother, Alma. He served his country faithfully during World War II as a member of the 802nd Engineer Aviation Battalion. His wartime service began in May, 1943 and lasted through the end of the war, starting with deployment to Attu Island, Alaska, shortly after the Battle of Attu. After amphibious landing training at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, he was part of the US invasion of the island of Okinawa, building the airfields that supported Army Air Force operations.

Norm married his sweetheart, Beatrice Huettl, on October 10, 1942, and returned to Appleton to build their life together after the war. He made a career as a bus driver and diesel mechanic at Fox River Bus Lines (currently Valley Transit) from which he retired after 43 years of tireless service. In his retirement years, Norm spent many hours fishing for walleye and perch on Lake Winnebago, tending his garden, and being a good neighbor and friend to all who knew him. He and his wife were longtime members of the Appleton Alliance church.

Norm will be lovingly remembered by his children, Mark (Kathy Jo) Lemke and Kathie (Robert) Menuet; his grandchildren, Chris (Nicole) Meltz, Randy Lemke and Phil (Deanna) Lemke; great-grandchildren, Benjamin and Adina Lemke and Virginia Meltz; and his special cousins, Gene Barth, Marian (Bob) Rohloff, Shirley (Don) Doersch, Darlene (Rich) Loga; and sisters-in-law, Betty Lemke and Jane Dorn. Norm was preceded in death by his father, Frederick Otto Lemke and mother, Alma (Herman) Lemke, and his wife, Beatrice (Huettl) Lemke, his brother, Fred Lemke and his sister, Beatrice Lemke McGill.

A Funeral Service in memory of Norm will be held on Sunday, December 23, 2018 at 2:00 p.m., at Valley Funeral Home, Appleton, with Rev. Dick Schaefer officiating. Full Military Honors will follow the service. Norm's family will receive relatives and friends at the funeral home on Sunday from 1 PM until the time of service. Interment will occur Wednesday, December 26 at 9:30AM in the family plot at Highland Memorial Park, 3131 N. Richmond St., Appleton. Memorial donations in memory of Norman Lemke can be mailed to Honor Flight, Inc., 175 South Tuttle Road, Springfield, OH 45505, or online at https://www.honorflight.org/donate-now/.

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