Richard "Rich" Kleinschmidt, age 85, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 24, 2016. He was born on the home farm in Fisk with his twin brother Roger on May 14, 1931. He graduated from Omro High School in 1949 and bought his cherished '49 Plymouth convertible that same year. He was still driving it prior to his death. He was the last remaining member of his family - parents George Sr. & Anna Kleinschmidt, two brothers, George & Roger, and sisters Phyllis & Gladys. Rich married June Bruss on June 14, 1952 in Winneconne, Wisconsin.
Rich grew up on the farm and always said, "It was good place to be from." His career included farming, auto body repair and insurance-claims adjusting. He retired early at age 57, and you could often find him traveling the country with June in their motor home. Rich loved spending time welding, blacksmithing and wood-working in his shed behind the house. He enjoyed fixing things and making folk-art projects.
Rich is survived by his wife June and children Scott (Mary) of Brookfield, Peggy (Brian) Hayman of Madison and Wendy (Russ) Potratz of Oshkosh along with eight grandchildren of whom he was SUPER proud: Coral (Alex) Wolf, Jack (Janee) Wolf, Dan Kleinschmidt, Emily (Jeff) Latham, Peter (Sarah) Kleinschmidt, Zak (Kate) Potratz, Molly Hayman, Madi Potratz, and one great-grandchild, Adalynn Wolf.
Memorial services will be held at First English Lutheran Church, 1013 Minnesota Street, Oshkosh, on Sunday, August 28, 2016 at 4:00 PM. The family will greet relatives and friends from 1:00 p.m. until the time of the service. A memorial fund will be established at a later date. Online condolences to the family may be made at www.seefeldfuneral.com.