Obit: Peeters, George Paul (1914 – 2007)
Poster: Crystal Wendt
Email: Post4LincolnCoWi@aol.com

Surnames: Peeters, Collins, Radtke, Gruetzmacher, Kersten, Kufahl, Catlin, Skahan, Horath

---Source: Foto News (Merrill, Lincoln County, Wis.) Wednesday, 21 Mar. 2007; page 9

---Peeters, George Paul (13 Dec. 1914 – 17 Mar. 2007)

George P. Peeters

George Paul Peeters, 92, of Merrill, died Saturday, March 17, 2007, at Bell Tower Residence, Merrill, under Aspirus Comfort Care and Hospice.

Born Dec. 13, 1914, in Merrill, George was the son of the late John and Libby Collins Peeters. He married Loretta Radtke on Sept. 29, 1943, in Washougal, Wash. She preceded him in death on March 24, 2005.

George grew up on Division St. in Merrill. He attended Catholic school and high school in Merrill. After high school, George worked for Carl Gruetzmacher doing farm chores. He then worked for Weinbrenner Shoe Company until 1942. From 1942 until 1947, George was a welder and supervisor building war ships for the Kaiser Corp. in Washington state. He moved back to Merrill in 1947 and started his own welding shop. He also worked in the maintenance department at Page Milk. Later, George owned and operated his own construction and excavating business, digging basements, drilling wells and installing septic systems. He designed and built his own equipment. In the mid 1960s he returned to welding and was a member of Local 434 Plumbers and Steamfitters union. He taught welding for Merrill Vocational School and retired in 1981. He was a member of St. Francis Catholic Church. George enjoyed model airplanes, making jewelry, welding, woodworking, wood lathe turnings, gardening, elk and deer hunting, making walking canes and just tinkering around the house. He built his own home in 1947 and lived there before moving to Bell Tower. George loved to tell stories about his years in the shipyard and about the many hunting trips. "I enjoy visiting with people who stop and see me," George said. "The food is wonderful and the people are so helpful and friendly."

Survivors include his sons Larry (Patricia), Merrill; and Jerry (Beverly Kersten), Oregon City, Ore.; grandchildren Andrew, Oregon City, Ore.; and Theresa (Jeremy) Kufahl and Rebecca Catlin, both of Merrill; great-grandsons Kurtis and Tyler Kufahl, Merrill; and sister Grace Marie Skahan, Havelock, N.C.

He was preceded in death by his wife Loretta, brother Louis and sister Genevieve Hall.

Funeral services were Wednesday, March 21, at Bell Tower Residence, Merrill. Rev. James Horath officiated. Burial was in St. Francis Catholic Cemetery, Merrill.

The Waid Funeral Home, Merrill, assisted the family.