Metzenbauer, William

VISITATION:

4-7 p.m., Thursday, March 31 and from 10-11 a.m., Friday, April 1 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 201 W. Central Street, Chippewa Falls

SERVICE:

11 a.m., Friday, April 1 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 201 W. Central Street, Chippewa Falls

Both the visitation and the service will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church

William L. Metzenbauer, 66, of Chippewa Falls, village of Lake Hallie, died Tuesday, March 29, 2016 surrounded by his loving family and friends.

He was born June 26, 1949 in Cadott, the son of Thelma (Jensen) and Harold Metzenbauer. He graduated from Cadott High School in 1967.

On April 19, 1969, Bill married Cathy Shilts in Chippewa Falls. Soon after their marriage, Bill was drafted and went to serve honorably in the US Army from 1969-1970 during Vietnam.

Bill owned and operated Metzenbauer Painting for over 32 years until his retirement. He was a founding member of the Hallie Fire Dept., where he held various offices over the many years since 1970 that he proudly served as a firefighter.

He enjoyed the outdoors, especially fishing, camping and hunting. He enjoyed many elk hunting trips to Colorado over the years. He had a passion for restoring cars his pride and joy was his 1946 Willy's Jeep that he and his grandson, Nick worked on together. Bill was happiest spending time with his family and his precious grandchildren, each one held a special place in his heart. He enjoyed attending their band concerts and sporting events. He loved to watch his grandson, Mason pitch at his baseball games and never missed a chance to babysit the littlest grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife, Cathy; three daughters, Wendy (John) Schmidley, Amy (Dan Wolfarth) Hegenbart, Katie (Brandon) Woody, all of Chippewa Falls; sisters, Lois Krall, Detra (Dave Fink) Hanscom, all of Eau Claire; ten grandchildren, Nicholas, Madalyn, Brittney, Mason, Carter, Jevne, Taylor, Jorden, Jayden and Easton; a great-grandson, Maddox; stepmother, Mae Ryan of Chippewa Falls; his father-in-law, Donald Shilts Sr. of Chippewa Falls; brothers and sisters-in-law, Donald (Eunice) Shilts Jr. of Eau Claire, Doug (Toni) Shilts, Jean (Rob) Starkmann, Janice (Joel Rihn) Christensen, Anna (Jon) Palm, Pam Breunig, all of Chippewa Falls; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Judy Guckenberg; his mother-in-law, Evelyn Shilts; brothers-in-law, Jerry Krall, Frank Hanscom, and Dan Shilts.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, April 1 at Trinity United Methodist Church, Chippewa Falls with the Rev. Terri Koca officiating. Interment with military honors conducted by the Chippewa Falls Patriotic Council will follow at Prairie View Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m., Thursday evening and one hour prior to the service Friday, all at Trinity United Methodist Church, 201 W. Central Street, Chippewa Falls.