Wayne W Bergholtz

Wayne William Bergholtz went home to heaven on Tuesday, July 28th, 2026 where he was reunited with his daughter Betsy after 5 long years. We're sure they greeted each other with a big hug and sassy, fun banter. He fought Kidney cancer for 9 years with great courage and tenacity. His body had been telling him over and over that he had an appointment with God coming up soon and true to form he seemed shocked that it would be this day almost as if this was the first he had been hearing about it. The appointment he remembered, but the date? No way it was that day! So he threw a last minute party Monday where he got to see so many of his family and friends who traveled from hours away to say goodbye and share one more joke. He lived with everything he had until he simply didn't.

Wayne was born March 23rd, 1964 to Allen and Elizabeth Bergholtz. He married the love of his life, Cindy, who was his biggest cheerleader and advocate through life on March 28th 1987. He knew without a doubt that she was the one for him… when she told him that she was the one for him. He spent his entire career working for Pierce Manufacturing and was so grateful that a kid with just a high school diploma was able to provide such a wonderful life for his wife and kids. He made lifelong friendships through Pierce and had so many fond memories from those early days before safety managers were so prevalent. He truly prided himself on his work ethic and helping his entire team excel. There was nothing he could not pick up with his forklift.

He loved taking long walks in the woods up in northern Wisconsin near a shared cabin in Cayuga. He'd spend hours out there, bow or rifle in hand. He'd climb a tree, take a nice long nap out there and then just walk right back out for no particular reason! Sometimes he'd bring a Buck back but mostly he'd come home with stories about a Doe with her babies or a sweet young buck with little antlers who seemed to know something was there but certainly no danger. In his spare time you could find him on a boat. Giant boats sailing through the Caribbean or Alaska with his wife, medium boats throwing top water bait on Lake Pokegama catching Bass or Northern also with his wife, or he would captain the smallest boat imaginable jigging for walleye and perch with his wife and 2 daughters who were small at the time where only he, the captain, was allowed to cast his line far out. He passed on his love of fishing to his entire family and they were all able to share a few fishing trips together, all 7 of them on a pontoon boat in Woodruff earlier this summer.

Wayne loved Wisconsin sports. The Green Bay Packers, the Milwaukee Bucks, Badger football and basketball. However, the Milwaukee Brewers had his heart and then broke his heart repeatedly every September through October for the past 62 years straight which is probably why he left this earth with them at the top of the division, never to have his heart broken again. If Wayne was nearby, so were the sounds of the Brewers broadcast. The Brewers came along to every road trip, camper trip, hospital stay, evenings in the garage, and anywhere it was a possibility. If he couldn’t watch the game then you'd hear "Siri, what's the score of the Brewer game?" every few minutes.

He loved his family and showed his wife and daughters every day through small and big acts alike but his grandkids really grew his heart by 10 sizes. Jackson, Jace, and Amara would bring life back to his face on his hardest days and always said he would not have been able to get through the last few surgeries if not for them. He wanted to watch them grow up as much as possible. His Grandkids loved their Papa and their Papa was so proud of them.

Wayne is survived by his wife Cindy, his daughter Stephanie, Son in Law Alfredo, and grandkids Jackson, Jace and Amara. His is also survived by his sisters Jan (Steve) Loiselle Bergholtz, Susan (John) Schuttenhelm, and Jody Van Handel. His brothers and sisters in law Kathy (Mark) Masse, Susan Shefka- Peeters, Deb (Mark) Guckenberger, Tom (Barb) Shefka, and Jim (Traci) Shefka. He is survived by many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, his friends Don, Kelly, John, Cindy and so many other friends that he treated as family. He is preceded in death by his daughter Betsy Bergholtz, his parents Al and Betty Bergholtz, his mother and father in law Wally and Laurie Shefka and his brothers in law Tom Van Handel and Mark Peeters. He was also greeted by so many of his dogs that have been patiently waiting for him to arrive to pick up their game of frisbee. 

We would also like to extend a heartfelt thanks to his entire care team especially Dr. Shabani, Dr. Engel and both of their teams for their time, effort, extra care and attention. There are so many health care professionals who helped him along this journey and made it possible for him to continue enjoying his life right up until the end.

Celebration of life will be held at Tanners Bar & Grill in Kimberly on Friday, August 14th from 3-7pm where Hor D'oeuvres will be served. Please have a fun story about Wayne to share and wear your finest Brewers or Packers attire. Out of respect, we will not be allowing anyone with Cowboys or Cubs attire in the building, you may however wear anything else you are comfortable in. 

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.