Merril Wayne Breidenstein, 68, of Ontario passed away Nov. 25, 2013, at the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse.
He was born the youngest child of Bernard and Anna (Collins) Breidenstein on Nov. 10, 1945, in Hillsboro.
After attending the Mount Pisgah one-room country school and graduating from Brookwood in 1965, he spent the remainder of his life on the ancestral farm in Cass Valley and the surrounding community. In his youth, he played softball, but as the years moved along, he spent more time in the world of birds, butterflies and wildflowers. Sometimes he enjoyed watching the Brewers and Packers, and sometimes, when their ineptitude became too painful to watch, he turned them off and found something else to do.
A stray dog or cat would often find a home in his world. As his many physical problems increased in recent years, he managed to accept them without complaint.
He is survived by his three brothers, Alton and Bob of Ontario and William (Marla) of Janesville; two sisters, Lucille of La Crosse and Linda (Harry) Fiske of Valley, Wis.; two sisters-in-law, Ruth of Delavan, Wis., and Shirley of Edmond, Okla.; two beloved aunts, Dorothy and Vivian, both of Oregon; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Blaine (Anna Marie), Burdette, Beauford and Donald (Marlene); and his sisters, Arlene (Duane) Obert and Clara Breidenstein.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, at Mount Pisgah Wesleyan Church in rural Ontario. Pastor Bob Streeter will officiate. Burial will follow in Burr Ridge Cemetery in rural Hillsboro. Family and friends are invited for visitation Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service at the church. The Torkelson Funeral Home of Ontario is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences are available at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.
