Richard (Dick) Armin Breyer, age 79, formerly of Stephenson, Michigan; currently of Ada, Michigan and Sun City Arizona; passed away on June 1st 2009 at his home in Sun City Arizona after a challenging six-year battle with multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer).
He was born to Alvin and Elfriede (Westphal) Breyer on the 22nd of November, 1929 in Birnamwood, Wisconsin at their farm home. He graduated from Birnamwood High School in 1947. He then graduated from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls in 1951 with majors in Agriculture, General Science, and Education with a minor in Industrial Arts.
He taught at the John A. Doelle School in Tapiola, Michigan. There he met his wife, Greta Maria Hyypio. They were married on June 27th, 1953 in the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Hancock, Michigan. Soon after their marriage, he served in the U.S. Army, being stationed at Ft. Lewis in Washington and Fts. Ord and Hunter Liggett in California. After his service, he returned to teaching school.
In 1966, he began a career as a county agricultural extension agent for the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service, serving initially in Baraga County. He was instrumental in the rejuvenation of the Baraga County Fair at Pelkie, bringing in state funding to build the fair building in 1967. He then accepted the county agent position in Menominee County in 1973, replacing the retiring Gail Bowers. He guided the transformation of the Dairy Days at Shakey Lakes into the Menominee County Fair shortly after his arrival in Stephenson. He later served as District Energy Agent for the Upper Peninsula, and as the TelFarm Agent for the U.P., and led the cranberry program for the entire state – serving the Extension Service until his retirement in 1990. He also owned and operated the car wash in Stephenson until he closed it in 1985.
After he retired he was called by Michigan Governor John Engler to fill a vacancy on the Upper Peninsula State Fair Board. He served two consecutive five-year terms and completed his service in 2001. He also served as sexton for the Bethesda cemetery in Daggett through his involvement in the St. Stephen's Lutheran Church parish. He and his wife also began spending winters in Sun City where he was very active in lapidary, woodworking and silversmith clubs, and neighborhood government serving as chairman of the Kismet Court community where they lived. His hobbies included helping others, gardening, canning, cooking, travel, hunting, fishing, lapidary, and playing cards.
He was cherished as a father by his children and envied by many of his children's friends. He knew every fair-value ice cream counter along his routes of travel and he rarely passed one without stopping – especially when kids were in the car. In 1972, he took a month vacation so that he could tour America with his family of 8 in a van pulling a pop-up trailer, camping along the way, and teaching his children the many landmarks, cultures, freedoms, and possibilities that this great country offers. There were other business trips where the entire family drove to Richmond Virginia or Boise Idaho, always creating a family memory to be forever cherished. As a fair board manager, his grandchildren, nephews and nieces got to meet the famous performers that he hired to perform the grandstand shows – the kids rode unlimited midway rides at his own expense and brought home the largest stuffed animals. As a sportsman, he hosted hunter friends and business colleagues from across the Midwest who always left Menominee County with their deer tags filled. In 1977, he took the Stephenson High basketball team to Milwaukee for an NBA game between the Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. He arranged a luncheon at the Pfister Hotel where his cousin Paul Westphal, a basketball player for the Suns, visited with the Stephenson team before all of them took in that night's game.
Their home and beds were always open to the travelers and new arrivals to the area. He and his family took in two foster children in Tapiola and L'Anse, and four foreign exchange students during their life in Stephenson.
He and his family have lived in King City and Seaside California, and Tapiola, L'Anse, Stephenson, and Ada Michigan. During his life he has been a member of St. Johns Lutheran in Birnamwood, Our Saviour's Lutheran in Elo Michigan, St. Johns (later United Lutheran) in L'Anse, and St. Stephen's Lutheran in Stephenson. In his later years he was a member of Trinity Lutheran in Grand Rapids and Peace Lutheran in Peoria Arizona. He has held every lay position in the ELCA Lutheran churches at the congregational and synod levels during his lifetime. He has a very strong faith in his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
He is survived by his wife Greta of nearly 56 years; six children – Daniel of the Great Lakes and Ada, Patricia (William) Patton of Saranac Michigan, Timothy (Dorothy) of Dover Delaware, Jerome (Sally) of Gilbert Arizona, Christopher (Gabriela) of Foothill Ranch California, and Jessica (Roger) Marks of Ada; two brothers – Glen (Virginia) of Birnamwood and William (Carol) of Appleton Wisconsin and one sister Rosemary (Jim) Toby of Brookfield Wisconsin; two brothers-in-law Karl (Evelyn) Hyypio of Weston Wisconsin and Paul (Chris) Hyypio of Tapiola; three sisters-in-law, Rachel Grapentine of Utica Michigan, Ida (Stanley) Michaelson of Tapiola and Helen Breyer of Antigo Wisconsin; an aunt, Ruth (Westphal Dawson) of Glendale Arizona; 11 grandchildren (the newest named Armin after him) – John (Tiffany) Patton, Andrew, Benjamin, and Samuel Patton; Rachel and Hannah Breyer; Ian, Bianca, and Armin Breyer; and Tobias and Marilla Marks; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews and a host of neighbors and friends.
Other family members who preceded him in death include his older brother Lloyd, his older sister Loma Jean Breyer Quade, and four special brothers-in-law – John (Betty) Hyypio, Peter Hyypio, and Thomas (Norma) Hyypio, and William Grapentine.
(The Children of Richard A. Breyer. "Richard A. Breyer Memorial Obituary",Legacy.com Memorial Websites.
http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/richardabreyer/Homepage.aspx, 21 June, 2009. 17 March, 2010)
He was born to Alvin and Elfriede (Westphal) Breyer on the 22nd of November, 1929 in Birnamwood, Wisconsin at their farm home. He graduated from Birnamwood High School in 1947. He then graduated from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls in 1951 with majors in Agriculture, General Science, and Education with a minor in Industrial Arts.
He taught at the John A. Doelle School in Tapiola, Michigan. There he met his wife, Greta Maria Hyypio. They were married on June 27th, 1953 in the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Hancock, Michigan. Soon after their marriage, he served in the U.S. Army, being stationed at Ft. Lewis in Washington and Fts. Ord and Hunter Liggett in California. After his service, he returned to teaching school.
In 1966, he began a career as a county agricultural extension agent for the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service, serving initially in Baraga County. He was instrumental in the rejuvenation of the Baraga County Fair at Pelkie, bringing in state funding to build the fair building in 1967. He then accepted the county agent position in Menominee County in 1973, replacing the retiring Gail Bowers. He guided the transformation of the Dairy Days at Shakey Lakes into the Menominee County Fair shortly after his arrival in Stephenson. He later served as District Energy Agent for the Upper Peninsula, and as the TelFarm Agent for the U.P., and led the cranberry program for the entire state – serving the Extension Service until his retirement in 1990. He also owned and operated the car wash in Stephenson until he closed it in 1985.
After he retired he was called by Michigan Governor John Engler to fill a vacancy on the Upper Peninsula State Fair Board. He served two consecutive five-year terms and completed his service in 2001. He also served as sexton for the Bethesda cemetery in Daggett through his involvement in the St. Stephen's Lutheran Church parish. He and his wife also began spending winters in Sun City where he was very active in lapidary, woodworking and silversmith clubs, and neighborhood government serving as chairman of the Kismet Court community where they lived. His hobbies included helping others, gardening, canning, cooking, travel, hunting, fishing, lapidary, and playing cards.
He was cherished as a father by his children and envied by many of his children's friends. He knew every fair-value ice cream counter along his routes of travel and he rarely passed one without stopping – especially when kids were in the car. In 1972, he took a month vacation so that he could tour America with his family of 8 in a van pulling a pop-up trailer, camping along the way, and teaching his children the many landmarks, cultures, freedoms, and possibilities that this great country offers. There were other business trips where the entire family drove to Richmond Virginia or Boise Idaho, always creating a family memory to be forever cherished. As a fair board manager, his grandchildren, nephews and nieces got to meet the famous performers that he hired to perform the grandstand shows – the kids rode unlimited midway rides at his own expense and brought home the largest stuffed animals. As a sportsman, he hosted hunter friends and business colleagues from across the Midwest who always left Menominee County with their deer tags filled. In 1977, he took the Stephenson High basketball team to Milwaukee for an NBA game between the Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. He arranged a luncheon at the Pfister Hotel where his cousin Paul Westphal, a basketball player for the Suns, visited with the Stephenson team before all of them took in that night's game.
Their home and beds were always open to the travelers and new arrivals to the area. He and his family took in two foster children in Tapiola and L'Anse, and four foreign exchange students during their life in Stephenson.
He and his family have lived in King City and Seaside California, and Tapiola, L'Anse, Stephenson, and Ada Michigan. During his life he has been a member of St. Johns Lutheran in Birnamwood, Our Saviour's Lutheran in Elo Michigan, St. Johns (later United Lutheran) in L'Anse, and St. Stephen's Lutheran in Stephenson. In his later years he was a member of Trinity Lutheran in Grand Rapids and Peace Lutheran in Peoria Arizona. He has held every lay position in the ELCA Lutheran churches at the congregational and synod levels during his lifetime. He has a very strong faith in his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
He is survived by his wife Greta of nearly 56 years; six children – Daniel of the Great Lakes and Ada, Patricia (William) Patton of Saranac Michigan, Timothy (Dorothy) of Dover Delaware, Jerome (Sally) of Gilbert Arizona, Christopher (Gabriela) of Foothill Ranch California, and Jessica (Roger) Marks of Ada; two brothers – Glen (Virginia) of Birnamwood and William (Carol) of Appleton Wisconsin and one sister Rosemary (Jim) Toby of Brookfield Wisconsin; two brothers-in-law Karl (Evelyn) Hyypio of Weston Wisconsin and Paul (Chris) Hyypio of Tapiola; three sisters-in-law, Rachel Grapentine of Utica Michigan, Ida (Stanley) Michaelson of Tapiola and Helen Breyer of Antigo Wisconsin; an aunt, Ruth (Westphal Dawson) of Glendale Arizona; 11 grandchildren (the newest named Armin after him) – John (Tiffany) Patton, Andrew, Benjamin, and Samuel Patton; Rachel and Hannah Breyer; Ian, Bianca, and Armin Breyer; and Tobias and Marilla Marks; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews and a host of neighbors and friends.
Other family members who preceded him in death include his older brother Lloyd, his older sister Loma Jean Breyer Quade, and four special brothers-in-law – John (Betty) Hyypio, Peter Hyypio, and Thomas (Norma) Hyypio, and William Grapentine.
(The Children of Richard A. Breyer. "Richard A. Breyer Memorial Obituary",Legacy.com Memorial Websites.
http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/richardabreyer/Homepage.aspx, 21 June, 2009. 17 March, 2010)
Richard (Dick) Armin Breyer, age 79, formerly of Stephenson, Michigan; currently of Ada, Michigan and Sun City Arizona; passed away on June 1st 2009 at his home in Sun City Arizona after a challenging six-year battle with multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer).
He was born to Alvin and Elfriede (Westphal) Breyer on the 22nd of November, 1929 in Birnamwood, Wisconsin at their farm home. He graduated from Birnamwood High School in 1947. He then graduated from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls in 1951 with majors in Agriculture, General Science, and Education with a minor in Industrial Arts.
He taught at the John A. Doelle School in Tapiola, Michigan. There he met his wife, Greta Maria Hyypio. They were married on June 27th, 1953 in the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Hancock, Michigan. Soon after their marriage, he served in the U.S. Army, being stationed at Ft. Lewis in Washington and Fts. Ord and Hunter Liggett in California. After his service, he returned to teaching school.
In 1966, he began a career as a county agricultural extension agent for the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service, serving initially in Baraga County. He was instrumental in the rejuvenation of the Baraga County Fair at Pelkie, bringing in state funding to build the fair building in 1967. He then accepted the county agent position in Menominee County in 1973, replacing the retiring Gail Bowers. He guided the transformation of the Dairy Days at Shakey Lakes into the Menominee County Fair shortly after his arrival in Stephenson. He later served as District Energy Agent for the Upper Peninsula, and as the TelFarm Agent for the U.P., and led the cranberry program for the entire state – serving the Extension Service until his retirement in 1990. He also owned and operated the car wash in Stephenson until he closed it in 1985.
After he retired he was called by Michigan Governor John Engler to fill a vacancy on the Upper Peninsula State Fair Board. He served two consecutive five-year terms and completed his service in 2001. He also served as sexton for the Bethesda cemetery in Daggett through his involvement in the St. Stephen's Lutheran Church parish. He and his wife also began spending winters in Sun City where he was very active in lapidary, woodworking and silversmith clubs, and neighborhood government serving as chairman of the Kismet Court community where they lived. His hobbies included helping others, gardening, canning, cooking, travel, hunting, fishing, lapidary, and playing cards.
He was cherished as a father by his children and envied by many of his children's friends. He knew every fair-value ice cream counter along his routes of travel and he rarely passed one without stopping – especially when kids were in the car. In 1972, he took a month vacation so that he could tour America with his family of 8 in a van pulling a pop-up trailer, camping along the way, and teaching his children the many landmarks, cultures, freedoms, and possibilities that this great country offers. There were other business trips where the entire family drove to Richmond Virginia or Boise Idaho, always creating a family memory to be forever cherished. As a fair board manager, his grandchildren, nephews and nieces got to meet the famous performers that he hired to perform the grandstand shows – the kids rode unlimited midway rides at his own expense and brought home the largest stuffed animals. As a sportsman, he hosted hunter friends and business colleagues from across the Midwest who always left Menominee County with their deer tags filled. In 1977, he took the Stephenson High basketball team to Milwaukee for an NBA game between the Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. He arranged a luncheon at the Pfister Hotel where his cousin Paul Westphal, a basketball player for the Suns, visited with the Stephenson team before all of them took in that night's game.
Their home and beds were always open to the travelers and new arrivals to the area. He and his family took in two foster children in Tapiola and L'Anse, and four foreign exchange students during their life in Stephenson.
He and his family have lived in King City and Seaside California, and Tapiola, L'Anse, Stephenson, and Ada Michigan. During his life he has been a member of St. Johns Lutheran in Birnamwood, Our Saviour's Lutheran in Elo Michigan, St. Johns (later United Lutheran) in L'Anse, and St. Stephen's Lutheran in Stephenson. In his later years he was a member of Trinity Lutheran in Grand Rapids and Peace Lutheran in Peoria Arizona. He has held every lay position in the ELCA Lutheran churches at the congregational and synod levels during his lifetime. He has a very strong faith in his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
He is survived by his wife Greta of nearly 56 years; six children – Daniel of the Great Lakes and Ada, Patricia (William) Patton of Saranac Michigan, Timothy (Dorothy) of Dover Delaware, Jerome (Sally) of Gilbert Arizona, Christopher (Gabriela) of Foothill Ranch California, and Jessica (Roger) Marks of Ada; two brothers – Glen (Virginia) of Birnamwood and William (Carol) of Appleton Wisconsin and one sister Rosemary (Jim) Toby of Brookfield Wisconsin; two brothers-in-law Karl (Evelyn) Hyypio of Weston Wisconsin and Paul (Chris) Hyypio of Tapiola; three sisters-in-law, Rachel Grapentine of Utica Michigan, Ida (Stanley) Michaelson of Tapiola and Helen Breyer of Antigo Wisconsin; an aunt, Ruth (Westphal Dawson) of Glendale Arizona; 11 grandchildren (the newest named Armin after him) – John (Tiffany) Patton, Andrew, Benjamin, and Samuel Patton; Rachel and Hannah Breyer; Ian, Bianca, and Armin Breyer; and Tobias and Marilla Marks; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews and a host of neighbors and friends.
Other family members who preceded him in death include his older brother Lloyd, his older sister Loma Jean Breyer Quade, and four special brothers-in-law – John (Betty) Hyypio, Peter Hyypio, and Thomas (Norma) Hyypio, and William Grapentine.
(The Children of Richard A. Breyer. "Richard A. Breyer Memorial Obituary",Legacy.com Memorial Websites.
http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/richardabreyer/Homepage.aspx, 21 June, 2009. 17 March, 2010)
He was born to Alvin and Elfriede (Westphal) Breyer on the 22nd of November, 1929 in Birnamwood, Wisconsin at their farm home. He graduated from Birnamwood High School in 1947. He then graduated from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls in 1951 with majors in Agriculture, General Science, and Education with a minor in Industrial Arts.
He taught at the John A. Doelle School in Tapiola, Michigan. There he met his wife, Greta Maria Hyypio. They were married on June 27th, 1953 in the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Hancock, Michigan. Soon after their marriage, he served in the U.S. Army, being stationed at Ft. Lewis in Washington and Fts. Ord and Hunter Liggett in California. After his service, he returned to teaching school.
In 1966, he began a career as a county agricultural extension agent for the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service, serving initially in Baraga County. He was instrumental in the rejuvenation of the Baraga County Fair at Pelkie, bringing in state funding to build the fair building in 1967. He then accepted the county agent position in Menominee County in 1973, replacing the retiring Gail Bowers. He guided the transformation of the Dairy Days at Shakey Lakes into the Menominee County Fair shortly after his arrival in Stephenson. He later served as District Energy Agent for the Upper Peninsula, and as the TelFarm Agent for the U.P., and led the cranberry program for the entire state – serving the Extension Service until his retirement in 1990. He also owned and operated the car wash in Stephenson until he closed it in 1985.
After he retired he was called by Michigan Governor John Engler to fill a vacancy on the Upper Peninsula State Fair Board. He served two consecutive five-year terms and completed his service in 2001. He also served as sexton for the Bethesda cemetery in Daggett through his involvement in the St. Stephen's Lutheran Church parish. He and his wife also began spending winters in Sun City where he was very active in lapidary, woodworking and silversmith clubs, and neighborhood government serving as chairman of the Kismet Court community where they lived. His hobbies included helping others, gardening, canning, cooking, travel, hunting, fishing, lapidary, and playing cards.
He was cherished as a father by his children and envied by many of his children's friends. He knew every fair-value ice cream counter along his routes of travel and he rarely passed one without stopping – especially when kids were in the car. In 1972, he took a month vacation so that he could tour America with his family of 8 in a van pulling a pop-up trailer, camping along the way, and teaching his children the many landmarks, cultures, freedoms, and possibilities that this great country offers. There were other business trips where the entire family drove to Richmond Virginia or Boise Idaho, always creating a family memory to be forever cherished. As a fair board manager, his grandchildren, nephews and nieces got to meet the famous performers that he hired to perform the grandstand shows – the kids rode unlimited midway rides at his own expense and brought home the largest stuffed animals. As a sportsman, he hosted hunter friends and business colleagues from across the Midwest who always left Menominee County with their deer tags filled. In 1977, he took the Stephenson High basketball team to Milwaukee for an NBA game between the Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. He arranged a luncheon at the Pfister Hotel where his cousin Paul Westphal, a basketball player for the Suns, visited with the Stephenson team before all of them took in that night's game.
Their home and beds were always open to the travelers and new arrivals to the area. He and his family took in two foster children in Tapiola and L'Anse, and four foreign exchange students during their life in Stephenson.
He and his family have lived in King City and Seaside California, and Tapiola, L'Anse, Stephenson, and Ada Michigan. During his life he has been a member of St. Johns Lutheran in Birnamwood, Our Saviour's Lutheran in Elo Michigan, St. Johns (later United Lutheran) in L'Anse, and St. Stephen's Lutheran in Stephenson. In his later years he was a member of Trinity Lutheran in Grand Rapids and Peace Lutheran in Peoria Arizona. He has held every lay position in the ELCA Lutheran churches at the congregational and synod levels during his lifetime. He has a very strong faith in his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
He is survived by his wife Greta of nearly 56 years; six children – Daniel of the Great Lakes and Ada, Patricia (William) Patton of Saranac Michigan, Timothy (Dorothy) of Dover Delaware, Jerome (Sally) of Gilbert Arizona, Christopher (Gabriela) of Foothill Ranch California, and Jessica (Roger) Marks of Ada; two brothers – Glen (Virginia) of Birnamwood and William (Carol) of Appleton Wisconsin and one sister Rosemary (Jim) Toby of Brookfield Wisconsin; two brothers-in-law Karl (Evelyn) Hyypio of Weston Wisconsin and Paul (Chris) Hyypio of Tapiola; three sisters-in-law, Rachel Grapentine of Utica Michigan, Ida (Stanley) Michaelson of Tapiola and Helen Breyer of Antigo Wisconsin; an aunt, Ruth (Westphal Dawson) of Glendale Arizona; 11 grandchildren (the newest named Armin after him) – John (Tiffany) Patton, Andrew, Benjamin, and Samuel Patton; Rachel and Hannah Breyer; Ian, Bianca, and Armin Breyer; and Tobias and Marilla Marks; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews and a host of neighbors and friends.
Other family members who preceded him in death include his older brother Lloyd, his older sister Loma Jean Breyer Quade, and four special brothers-in-law – John (Betty) Hyypio, Peter Hyypio, and Thomas (Norma) Hyypio, and William Grapentine.
(The Children of Richard A. Breyer. "Richard A. Breyer Memorial Obituary",Legacy.com Memorial Websites.
http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/richardabreyer/Homepage.aspx, 21 June, 2009. 17 March, 2010)
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