Dale Heminger

Dale William Heminger, age 89, of Rudolph, passed away Monday, December 21, 2020. A Memorial Service will be held 2:00 PM Friday, July 9, 2021 at Bethany Lutheran Church (6900 Swedish Rd) in Wisconsin Rapids. Visitation will be held from 1:00 PM until the time of service. Burial will be in the Restlawn Memorial Park in Wisconsin Rapids.

Dale was born December 15, 1931, in Indiana. He was the son of Charles A. and Lela (James) Heminger. Growing up on family farms in Indiana, he told the story of it being a hard life, but an enormously fun life also! He attended Stillwell High School in Laporte, IN, excelling in baseball and basketball. His family moved his senior year to Nekoosa, WI where he graduated from Alexander High School in 1950.

Dale was a farm boy, helping to work the family farms in Indiana growing up, as well as in Nekoosa and then Rudolph. His first job was driving a gravel truck in the area. He met the love of his life, Yvonne Gabler, through the Bethany Lutheran Church in Sigel. They were united in marriage on September 7, 1957. Yvonne passed away in 2001 and has been waiting to welcome her husband home for 20 years.

Starting a family led Dale to a job with the Biron Paper Mill, where he worked for 40 years. Dale and Yvonne loved their small country church and were greatly involved in all aspects of the church life, even to help build the new church building. Family life was centered around the church.

Dale loved to spread his love of baseball and basketball with the area youth. He was a volunteer coach for several decades. It was a true bright spot in his world, and he loved to tell coaching stories from those times.

Dale (and his brothers) inherited the storytelling gene from their father Charlie! Never was there a lull in conversation when any of the Heminger men were around – great storytellers all!

Dale was an all around kind, honorable and helpful man. Always available to lend a helping hand. He worked shiftwork at the mill, but somehow always managed to be there for his family, his church and his teams. His extended family was very important to him, and many trips were made as the family spread out across the country to keep in touch with all that he could.

Dale is survived by his children, Cindy (Steven) Greunke of Marshfield, WI, Randal (Mary) Heminger and Debra (Mark) Carter of Gillette, WY; grandchildren: Shawna Greunke, Megan, Greunke, Joshua Greunke, Cody Carter, Sawyer Poitra, Lindsey Carter; and great-grandchildren: Rylan, Emma and Eli Poitra, Theodora and Josephine Carter; sister: Virginia Browning; brother: Dennis (Helena) Heminger; sisters-in-law: Palma Gabler, Gwendolyn Tomczyk, Sandra Heminger, Mary Heminger: and brother-in-law: Ervin Tomczyk. He is further survived by many loving nieces, nephews and extended large family spread across these United States.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Yvonne (Gabler) Heminger; his parents: Charles A. & Lela Heminger; his father-in-law and mother-in-law: Wilson & Gladys Gabler; sister: Frances June (Heminger) Von Einem; brother-in-law: Chuck Von Einem; brothers: David Heminger and Charles Louis Heminger; brothers-in-law: Fred Browning and Virgil Gabler; sister-in-law: LuEtta Gabler; and infant sister: Sandra.

In lieu of flowers, donations/memorials may be sent to the Women’s Resource Center, PO Box 2289, Gillette, WY 82717.

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