Joseph R. Stencil

December 1936- November 2024

Joe had a nickname of “Dad” from his knowledge and acceptance of everyone. When you would first meet him, he would shake your hand and say, just call me “Dad”.

Our dad was born in the Town of Emmet, Wisconsin to Joseph and Anna Stencil. He had 2 sisters, Mary Swert, Joan King (Arnie), 1 brother John (Cecilia). His beloved wife, Jeannie. All have preceded him in death except one sister who called him every night, Joan King. Joe had lost a grandson, Joey, in 2007. 

Joe had 5 children: Clem (Hilary), Tom (Mary), Dave (Jackie), Sue (Jerry) Fohr and Julie (Jack) Beyers. 2 stepchildren; John (Sandy) Heath and Jeff (Becky) Heath, which were Jeannie’s son’s but part of Joe’s family. 

Joe had 8 Grandchildren: Shilo, Stephenie, Tiffany (Adam), Christopher (Dana), Alaina (Mike), Jennifer, Brandon, Jake. 14 step-grandchildren: Erin, Brent, Amy, Jaclyn, Dillon, Katie (Tom), Carrie, Eric, Tyler, Jordan, Brady, Nick and Ben. 

24 Great Grandchildren: Keyandra, Mqylei (Nick), Natayo, Nyeisa, Viviana, Ayden, Aurora, Novella, Neco, Elin, Kalix, Jaidynn (Audrey) Tallon, Aubrie, Gavin, Adalie, Everly, Taya, Maven, Axton, John, Lydia, Mason and Benjamin and 2 Great-Great Grandchildren: Jolie, and Liam.

Joe was raised on the family farm in Edgar, WI, while also attending school to the 8th grade which was common back then. When Dad got married to Kathy Martin, he was 22 years old. They owned a farm in Edgar having the two boys, Clem and Tom, before moving to the Milwaukee area in approximately 1961. He went to work with his then brother-in-law, Jerome Martin, as a mechanic at a full-service gas station for several years before getting a job at the American Motors Corporation in Kenosha, WI. His final job from which he retired from, was Briggs & Stratton in Wauwatosa, WI around 1994. 

In Dad’s spare time he enjoyed working on his vehicles (also teaching the boys how to fix things), attending car shows, auctions and fishing with his brother/brother-in-law/kids. He enjoyed working on and shooting guns as well as teaching his family how to respect a weapon. Dad enjoyed deer hunting for most of his time on earth. His favorite actor was Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson and John Wayne. Dad loved the tough guys that always had good prevail over the bad. Adding to his hobbies, he enjoyed watching old westerns and reading about the Old West as well as he would read his bible daily. In his union days, Dad voted as a Democrat but as time went on, he preferred the Republican candidates. He often read books and magazines to stay educated on what the political agendas were. Dad also enjoyed collecting coins during his life and you could give him your coin jar to see if there was anything worth keeping. While always looking for that special double stamped coin that was worth a million dollars, but he never found one. Joe and his late wife Jeannie built their dream log home in 1997 located in the Adams, Friendship area. One of their favorite past times was when they would sit on the porch with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and watch the birds and squirrels which they would feed daily for as long as they lived there. Needless to say, they both loved nature and were happy to see all the animals on their property. Activities that they enjoyed later in life to keep themselves busy was not only family and church, but they both joined the historic society and made a lot of new friends. 

A special video was made to remember our Father which is now with the almighty Father, God.

Videography production by - Living Legacy Reflection- Tiffany Stencil (Oakland).

A Memorial Service for Joseph will be held at 12:30 pm on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at Good Shepard Lutheran Church (502 W McMillan Street) Marshfield with Rev. Richard Corning officiating. Family and friends are welcome to visit directly at church from 11:30 until the time of service. A reception will follow.