Obituaries

Wayne O. Gruhlke, 82, of Fall Creek passed away on Monday, April 28, 2025.

Wayne was born to Orville and Mable (Thompson) Gruhlke on November 30, 1942, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He graduated from Memorial High School in 1961.

As a young man, Wayne worked various jobs, including working for his uncle Nanian at Bergum Garbage. He also worked at Kmart as a receiving manager until he was promoted to assistant store manager. Kmart is where he met and later married Judy Nordstrom on May 3, 1969. They had two amazing children, Troy and Stacy. After Kmart, he took a position with Gould as a foreman. He then worked many years in various construction jobs, followed by a long and rewarding carpenter career with Market and Johnson where he retired from in 2005. Wayne was always a hardworking man and took pride in any work he did.

Wayne’s family and friends were always very important to him. Wayne especially enjoyed many hunting, fishing and camping trips up north with his brothers, his son, family and friends. And we can’t forget to mention his hunting “sleepovers” with his brothers during the nine-day gun/deer season. Wayne and his brothers also enjoyed their annual trip to the Iola Car Show. He also loved watching wildlife in his 11-acre backyard, endless hours cutting firewood, and reminiscing about all of his hunting and fishing trips to Canada.

You may ask, are we going to miss Wayne’s one liners and Wayne-isms? -um, “Does a donkey have long ears?”

Wayne is survived by his life partner, Judy; son, Troy (Marie) Gruhlke and their daughters, Kalie, Kennedy, and Addison; daughter, Stacy (Keith) Mansur, and their children, Hailey (Ethan) Martin, Parker (Jerusha) Mansur, and Jaedyn (Matthew) Rees; and the first great grandbaby, Rees due in August.

He is further survived by his sister, Bonnie Spencer; sister, Gayle Hanson; sister-in-law, Nancy Sabatke; sister-in-law, Sue Gruhlke, and many special nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Wayne was proceeded in death by his parents, Orville and Mable Gruhlke; brothers, Randy, Reg and Roger Gruhlke; brothers-in-law, Russ Spencer and Richard Hanson; and sister-in-law, Verna Gruhlke.

Our family would like to say an extra special thank you to the staff at Prairie Pointe Assisted Living in Altoona and St Croix Hospice for the excellent care they provided for Wayne and our family over the past few weeks.

A service in honor of Wayne's life will be held Saturday, May 10, 2025, at Jacob’s Well Church located at 989 122nd St, Chippewa Falls, WI with visitation at 11 AM and the service beginning at 12 PM followed by a luncheon. He will be laid to rest at Rest Haven Cemetery following the luncheon. Family and friends may leave condolences online.