Dennis Herbert Woerpel, age 64, passed away peacefully on February 17, 2016, at Aurora Medical Center, after a short battle with cancer.
Dennis was born April 7, 1951, in Madison, WI, the third son to Raymond (Dick) and Carol (Hoyt) Woerpel. Growing up in Marshall, WI, a small suburb of Madison, Dennis attended Marshall High School and grew up loving the Wisconsin Badgers, playing four years of varsity football. He also wrestled and played in the band.
After graduating high school in 1969, Dennis attended UW Oshkosh and became a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity. Dennis met his future wife, Bonnie Behm, in 1970 and they married on December 28, 1971.
Dennis joined the Wisconsin National Guard, the 1157th in 1971 and was in the guards for eight years, spending his boot camp days at Fort Ord in California. He was working as a prison guard at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in 1974 when he and Bonnie had their first child, Dani, after which he joined the Oshkosh Police Department and enjoyed a very successful and meritorious 32-year career. Their second child, James, was born in 1977.
Devoting his entire life to protecting and serving his country, community and family, Dennis was an avid hunter, sportsman and superior marksman, and rose from the ranks of patrolman to Lt. of Investigative Services Bureau at the OPD. A SWAT captain, weapons instructor, training officer, color guard member, and the first officer in Wisconsin to become certified in verbal judo, Dennis worked endless hours keeping Oshkosh safe, which included saving more than a few lives along the way! And while working full-time at the OPD, he earned his BS in Criminal Justice from Southwest University in New Orleans in 1999.
In his free time, he enjoyed coaching his son's football teams and spending time with his family, especially up at the "High Trees" in Medford, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Oshkosh Community Band and enjoyed playing his French horn and trumpet. He also enjoyed collecting guns and military memorabilia, as well as knives and other weapons.
After his retirement in 2006, Dennis worked a number of different jobs—a watchman at the Paine Art Center, a transportation specialist with the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department, and a salesman for FileonQ, a police evidence software company. He also enjoyed volunteering for the Military Veterans Museum of Oshkosh and was a member of several organizations, including the American Legion and the Elks Club.
Dennis is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Bonnie, his children Dani (Dylan Stolley) and James Woerpel, and his furry kids, Fritz and Schatzie. He was preceded in death by his parents and both brothers, Donald and Dwayne, as well as a sister-in-law, Ann, and several aunts and uncles. He is further survived a sister-in-law, Elizabeth Woerpel, two nieces, Diane Cooper and Lisa Woerpel (who is also his goddaughter) and two nephews, Steve (Peggy) Woerpel and Robert Hendrickson, several cousins, and many close friends and hunting/poker buddies who will surely miss his presence at deer camp.
Visitation for family and friends will be held at the funeral home on Sunday, February 28, 2016 from 12:00 Noon until the time of the service remembering and celebrating his life at 3:00 p.m.
The family would like to thank all the doctors, nurses and specialists at Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh for taking such amazing care of Dennis during his 7-week stay at the hospital.