William "Bill" W. Draeger

William “Bill” Draeger, 83, of Hartland passed away on Wednesday, January 8th, 2025 at Heritage Assisted Living in Hartland after a long battle with heart failure.

He was born in Waukesha on February 15,1941 to William and Doris Draeger. Bill grew up in Waukesha, WI and graduated from Waukesha High School in 1959. Growing up he had a love of old cars and sports.

Bill was a machinist and then later an inspector at Wisconsin Drill Head. He started working there at a young age and worked there for 38 years until his retirement. During this time he served as the union steward/treasurer. Bill loved watching sports; he never missed a Packer game, he attended many Brewer games and loved watching off-road racing. He played Tennis with his best friend Don for many years. He enjoyed having a beer and his Klondike bars.

He married his first wife Carole. They lived in Oconomowoc and together they had three children, Debbie, Dawn and Denise. During their marriage he enjoyed their cabin up north where he was an avid snowmobiler, and spent his summers on the lake swimming, canoeing, fishing, hikes in the woods, and nightly campfires. 

He married his second wife Cheryl. They eventually moved out to Cottonwood, AZ and lived there for several years. During that time they enjoyed their retirement community where they took golf cart rides and attended the many activities available with their many friends. Together they took vacations in Cancun, Wisconsin Dells and the many places available to them with the Wyndam timeshare they owned.

He cherished his time with his grandchildren, often taking them to the Wisconsin Dells, Little Amerricka Amusement Park, Chuck e Cheese and many other places.

Bill’s loved ones remember him most as the gentle giant, who was always there when you needed him, as well as his sense of humor.

He will be deeply missed by his five children, Debbie (Scott) Buth of Lena, Dawn (Joe) Baake of Eden, Denise (Jim) Reser of Columbus, Lisa Norcia-Appelbaum (John) of Highland Park, IL, Dave (Tanya) Erbelding of Waukesha; his nine grandchildren, Billy Buth of Stacy, MN, Greg (Lora) Buth of Louisville, KY, Amanda (Stephen) Bohlmann of Sussex, Nichole (Patrick) Pierson of Watertown, Crystal Sweda of Watertown, Jake (Camden Moore) Norcia of Dallas, TX, Luke Norcia of Chicago, IL, Evan and Garett Erbelding of Waukesha; his four great grandchildren Lettie and Desmond Buth, Jaxson Pierson and Isabelle Tannis as well as his many nieces, nephews and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Cheryl and sister Doris Green.

The family would like to thank the Heritage Assisted Living caregivers who helped care for Bill the past three years, and the loving staff of Brighton Hospice in Brookfield.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday, January 17th, 2025, at Evert-Luko Funeral Home, 170 Warren Avenue, in Hartland, WI. Visitation will be at 2:00pm., followed by a memorial service at 3:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to Brighton Hospice would be greatly appreciated.