Dr. Bill Luetke, 94, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011, in Gainesville, Fla., with children at his side.
The son of Dolly Lamberston and Billy Pat Schell, he was born July 12, 1917, in Granite, Idaho. As a young boy, he was sent to live with Art and Mamie Luetke and raised by them in Ontario, Wis., in the beautiful hills and valleys of Wildcat Mountain and the Kickapoo River. He was affectionately known as “Bud” throughout his youth and found lifelong friends in Tom and Carol Rice, Margie and Leo Woods, and many other wonderful folks in Ontario.
He attended La Crosse State College his freshman and sophomore years, played basketball, sang in the Glee Club, and proudly played first-chair trumpet in both orchestra and marching band. He then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he played in the UW Band, took pre-med, and received his bachelor’s degree in 1938, the same year he was legally adopted by the Luetkes. He graduated from the UW-Madison Medical School four years later, and on that same sunny June day, married Elizabeth Walgran.
Bill served as a Navy flight surgeon during World War II on the Pacific Islands of Kwajalien and Guam 1944–46 and was the oldest surviving member of The Wildcat Mountain Boys Ontario Legion Post 467.
In 1947, he returned to the University of Wisconsin for an internship in obstetrics and gynecology, which he then made his lifelong profession and delivered more than 4,000 babies. He was the Chief of OB-GYN at Madison General Hospital in Madison for six years and was the president of the Continental Gynecological Society in 1957. He fulfilled his dream in building the 20 S. Park Medical Center in Madison.
He had a lifelong passion for golf and was a longtime member at Maple Bluff Country Club, where he had a hole-in-one. Bill took great pride in calling himself a “Kickapoogian” and ended most family contests with the challenge, “This one’s for Vernon County.” He enjoyed many years of hunting with his sons in North Dakota, and nothing tasted better than a good VO and club soda.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; his children, Art (Linda Collins) of McFarland, Wis., William Jr. of Red Lodge, Mont., Dr. Barbara Luetke of Shoreline Wash., Dr. Charles (Jennifer) of Gainesville, Fla.; extended family, Susan Luetke and Kent Stahlman; eight grandchildren, Trevor, Jessica, Breeze, Hannah, Mary Pat, Marcie, Mia and Eli; and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his adoptive parents, Arthur and Mamie Luetke; three children, daughter Caron and infant twin sons Lewis and Thomas; and two sisters Shirley, Bagley and Arlene Papin.
A special family memorial service will be at a later date in Ontario, surrounded by those beautiful hills and valleys of Wildcat Mountain and the Kickapoo River.
