Marvin Skrzypcak Obituary

Marvin A. Skrzypcak, 84, Town of Cassel, passed away peacefully early Sunday morning, June 22, 2025, at Applegate Terrace in Wausau.

Marvin was born on July 30, 1940, in Cassel on the family farm, son of the late Martin and Helen (Rodman) Skrzypcak. He was the youngest of 6 children. He graduated from Edgar High School in 1958. In 1961, he met Kathy Horacek at Don's Beer Bar in Rib Falls. Shortly after that, they met each other again at the Athens Fair and started dating. Marvin and Kathy married the following year on August 18, 1962, at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Milan.

Following their marriage, Kathy joined Marvin on the Skrzypcak family dairy farm in Cassel and went on to raise four children, Lori, Mark, Terri, and Scott. Marvin was a lifelong resident in Cassel on the family dairy farm. They were honored at the Wisconsin State Fair for having a Century Farm, as it has been in the family since 1876, 149 years! In their early married years, Marvin and Kathy had a polka band, The Twilight Ramblers, where he played drums and she played accordion. They continued the band until the mid-1970s. In addition to their dairy farm, Marvin and Kathy grew ginseng for more than 25 years. He was proud of his hard work ethic and could fix anything.

Marvin and Kathy enjoyed going out for fish fries with their friends on Friday nights. They attended Mass every Saturday evening and were often found afterwards playing 6-5-4 at Socha’s Saloon or Kingston’s Bar with their friends. They looked forward to seeing their friends nearly every Friday and Sunday at the “Corner” Restaurant in Edgar. At home, they enjoyed watching Mollie B and other favorite television shows together. They loved listening to polka shows on the radio every Saturday and Sunday morning. Most recently, Marvin got the opportunity to attend a Mollie B show, where he was able to meet and talk with her and even got his picture taken with her!

They enjoyed traveling together. They went on many Sunday road trips and attended so many church dinners. They also took many trips to attend country music shows and polka dances. They spent many memorable vacations together. Some of their favorite vacations included their honeymoon trip to Glacier National Park and a special trip to Niagara Falls to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They were proud of their children and especially their grandchildren, and they enjoyed attending their sporting events, school events, and concerts.

One of Marvin’s favorite pastimes was fishing, spending many winters ice fishing on the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir. He always looked forward to his annual June fishing trip to Canada, which he did for 40 years. He went on many fishing trips over the years, including to Squirrel Lake, Chassell Bay, Lake of the Woods, and Devil’s Lake, just to name a few. In addition to fishing, he also looked forward to deer hunting and getting together with extended family.

Marv found joy in driving around in his UTV to go and see his neighbors and friends and to check on his crops. He liked going to the casino to play Blackjack, participating in tractor pulls and earning several ribbons, and going to the steam engine show. He also looked forward to his class reunions, which he never missed. He recently attended his 65th class reunion.

Survivors include their children, Lori (Dale) Krause, Mark (Annette) Skrzypcak, Terri (Trent) Schelvan, and Scott Skrzypcak, grandchildren Traci (Robert) Leffel, Travis (Vanessa) Krause, Jordan Krause, Jessi (Kody) Guden, Kelsi Krause, Brianna Skrzypcak, Kaitlyn (Matt) Simpson, Shania Skrzypcak, Troy (Brianna) Andreshak, Karissa (Kody) Wirkus, Austin Dahlke, Tyler Skrzypcak, and Amber Skrzypcak, step-grandchildren Tanner Schelvan, Tristan Schelvan, and Ty Schelvan, great-grandchildren Rosalie Leffel, Brayden Leffel, Mia Krause, Josie Guden, Kameron Guden, Rhett Andreshak, Avery Andreshak, Kenleigh Wirkus, Klaydin Wirkus, and Kearsyn Wirkus. He is also survived by his brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, Jerry (Bonita) Horacek and Diane Horacek, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Marvin was preceded in death by his wife, Kathy, on May 21, 2024. He was also preceded in death by his parents, Martin and Helen (Rodman) Skrzypcak, his siblings and their spouses, Alex (Doris) Skrzypcak, Louis Skrzypcak, Dolores (George) Schueller, Cecilia Skrzypcak, Lillian (James) Burish, Kathy’s parents, Albert and Bernice (Zahorka) Horacek, his nieces, Mary (Schueller) Borchardt, Mary (Burish) Ruplinger, and Susan (Schueller) Ballerstein, and his nephew, Justin Horacek.

The funeral Mass will be celebrated at 12 noon on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Town of Cassel. The Rev. Joseph Nakwah will preside. Burial will be in the parish cemetery. Visitation will be on Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. until the time of Mass at the church.

The family would like to thank the staff at Wausau Manor Rehabilitation and Applegate Terrace, where he spent the last several weeks. We would also like to thank all of the staff who have taken care of him over the years, especially Aspirus Wausau Hospital and Aspirus Cardiology, Benedictine, Rennes, and Copperleaf Assisted Living. Also, a special thanks to Dr. Paul Sorajja at the Minneapolis Heart Institute for doing some newer and experimental procedures on Dad, which allowed us to have many extra years with him. To Jason Hepfler, thank you for your expertise, assistance, and advice when Dad needed those procedures. Last, but certainly not least, we’d like to thank Irene Soczka and Deb Marzynski for all of the love and care you gave to Dad over the past year. We are truly grateful for you both making his days so much brighter after he lost Mom, “The love of his life.”

Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com