Karl J. Schulz

Karl J. Schulz, who celebrated his 96th birthday on Dec.12th, died on Thursday, Jan. 12th at his home in Elroy, Wisconsin. 

He was born on Dec. 12, 1915 in Mauston to Ernest and Ann (Basta) Schulz.  On April 25, 1944, he married his beloved Margaret Ann Kettner in Rhinelander, WI.  They were blessed with 58 years of marriage. Their 50th anniversary was celebrated by a trip to Paris, London, and St. Andrews Links in Scotland, accompanied by their two daughters.

Graduating from Mauston high school as the class valedictorian, Karl entered LaCrosse Teacher’s College as a freshman. Though illness forced a withdrawal from university, Karl’s passion for learning and thirst for knowledge remained boundless. In later years, when visiting his daughter Karla in New York City, he would tour the museum exhibits from open to close, always the last visitor to exit the facility, after indulging in every placard and epigraph.

Although he dreamed of becoming a lawyer, Karl followed in the entrepreneurial spirit of his father.  With his wife as his partner, he soon opened three successful Variety stores in Elroy, Wonewoc, and New Lisbon.  At the age of 65, he established a Strout real estate brokerage in New Lisbon, and later joined the McKinney firm in Mauston.  Karl was frequently named Salesman of the Year. Only at the age of 80, did he retire.

A civic-minded man, Karl was vice president of Royal Bank and a long-time member of the Rotary Club, the Elroy school board and the Elroy Area Advancement Association. Karl lived his life to the fullest, and was an avid outdoorsman skilled in hunting and fishing. He took his family on numerous cross-country road trips, showing his family the country’s great national parks and monuments. His love of golf was unmatched, and he remained an active player of the game until the age of 94. Undeterred by weather, Karl would play the course even in the depths of winter by using brightly colored day-glo balls. The Schulz family feels forever indebted to the Heding family for their hard work in establishing the beautiful Spring Valley golf course.  

Survivors include two daughters, Colleen Liebmann of Combined Locks, WI and Karla Mancuso, grandchildren Max Karl and May Margaret Mancuso, all of New York City; sister, Beatrice Zuelzke of Mauston, WI, brother-in-law, Robert Kettner of Montauk, NY., and numerous nieces and nephews.