John Finlayson Wick

Mazomanie, WI

June 11, 1926-January 15, 2025

They met at the door of the Paul Bunyan Room of the UW Memorial Union on Wednesday evening, November 1, 1944, two UW freshmen. Helen Ann Wood was a beautiful nursing student from Neenah, volunteering as the hostess for a USO canteen for the military. John Finlayson Wick of Foxboro, WI in Douglas County south of Superior was in his Navy blues as a cadet in the V12 engineering program, out on an extra night of liberty earned as a member of the Navy choir. That Friday evening John sought and found Helen in a line checking her coat. He talked to her and made a first date and they built a wonderful life together, ending more than 71 years later in the early hours of June 12, 2016, when Helen was brought to her heavenly home by her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

John Finlayson Wick was born into the rural community of Foxboro, Douglas County, Wisconsin on June 11, 1926. His father, Oscar Arthur Wick was the son of Norwegian immigrants and grew up in Superior. His mother, Marion was of Highland Scots ancestry. Her father, John Simon Finlayson lived in the household with John and his three sisters. John Simon's tales of his own intrepid grandfather, Alexander "Soldier" Finlayson stayed with John all his 98 years, as did the culture of that rural community and his deep connections with successive generations of family.

Helen and John were married in Neenah on a blistering hot day, August 23, 1947. They soon moved into a 16'x22' shack that John built in an apple orchard on a farm out west of Madison on US151. Helen's nursing career ended a year later with the birth of their first child, Jeff. After three years of undergraduate engineering studies, John continued as a graduate student in the Commerce School, and daughter Jane was born while they lived in a Madison apartment. Margaret was born while they lived at Badger Village. John completed a master's degree in finance and accounting, and considerable work toward a doctorate before deciding he wanted to found his own business, not be a professor. With that, they moved to John's family's farm at Foxboro, where he farmed with his dad and used a 1948 Jeep to pull a New Holland hay baler, doing custom baling for other farmers. A fourth child, John Finlayson Wick II was born while they lived in the old Presbyterian manse on a corner of the farm at Foxboro.

At the Minnesota State Fair in September 1954, John talked to the owner of a company building pole barns. He was familiar with that form of construction, but hadn't seen anyone make a commercial enterprise of it. Here was a way to apply his engineering skills, business education and his desire to start his own business. The first Wick Building was built on the Mel Bickford farm near Prairie du Sac in January 1955. (70 years later, just days before his death, John was driven around that first building, now used by Habitat for Humanity.)  That February, John loaded Helen and their four kids into his Jeep, lashed their few possessions onto a farm wagon and moved to the rented Dunlap house on Eldred Street in Mazomanie. Their fifth child, Bob, was born two years later. After 11 years of renting, a Dunlap daughter asked John to buy the house to settle her dad's estate while he was still alive. John immediately accepted her offer and put the house in Helen's name because she completely managed the house and household.

They were two high-capacity people, John and Helen Wick, and the 20 years after their move to Mazomanie were hugely busy, raising five children and growing a business that at one point had thousands of employees and operations all over the country, California to the East Coast, Texas to Wisconsin.  Over the years, more than 250,000 buildings and factory-built homes were built by John's companies.

In the years from 1974 through 1993, 14 grandchildren were born. All grew up in this area, and there were many celebrations in boisterous family gatherings. Ten grandchildren are married, and 23 "great grands" have been born. What began as two people grew to a clan of 60, counting John, Helen and John II's wife Cheryl, the three who have died.  John was hugely proud of that clan. They are, in order of Helen and John's five children by birth, by family: Jeff (Ann) Wick, John (Keesha) Wick, Barb (Cody) Statz and Lila; Jane (Darrell) Kolstad, Derek (Sonja) Kolstad, Harold and Linnea, Julie (Tony) Koehn, Max and AJ, Bob (Shannon) Kolstad, Brendon, Hudson and Paxton; Margaret (Chris) Arenas, Katharine (Danny) Luong, Dylan and Jacob; John II and the late Cheryl Wick, Jessica (Donnie) Taylor, Rachel (fiance Robert Anthony) and Emily, Angus Wick, Bill (Krissy) Wick, Wilson, Liam, Lincoln and John, Johanna Wick, Mary (Eddie) Coplin and Addie; Bob (Lori) Wick, Tim (Andrea) Wick, Ella, Josslyn, Finlay, Elizabeth, Benjamin and Avery, Matt Wick and Abigail Wick.

John grew up near Foxboro with his three sisters: Helen married Al Pince, and they had five boys, David, Denny, Dan, Doug and Don. Denny and Dan have died. Years after Al's death, Helen was re-introduced to John Bjurman, who had also lived in the Foxboro area and they were happily married until John's death.  Sister Helen lived to be 102 and a half.  Sister Jean married Harlan (Hike) Howard, and they raised their daughters Cindy (Dan) LaPorte and Dana Howard (Paul Birch) on a farm near Glen Flora, Wisconsin.  Jean died in 2003. Marge married Dick Johnson and they raised seven children on that same Finlayson/Wick/Johnson farm: Linda (Dick) Capra, Rick (the late Sue), Brian (Chris), Barb (Mike) Stupak, Sue (Jeff) Heller, Margie (the late David Goad) and Amy (Ed) Smith.  Sister Marge is the loan survivor of her generation.  John and Helen's children were 5 of the 19 grandchildren of Oscar and Marion Wick and count themselves blessed that those first cousins have been such a part of their lives.

Just a mile away lived John's maternal aunt Catherine Finlayson (William) Rogge. They had three boys, Bill, Rick and Ed. Of the seven Finlayson grandchildren, Bill and Ed Rogge earned doctorates, John Wick completed a master's degree and much of the work for a doctorate, Rick Rogge and Jean Howard had bachelor's degrees and Helen Pince Bjurman and Marge Johnson both attended college. For the time and from that rural location, these were striking achievements.

John and Helen traveled together to business meetings all over the US; to Cuba on a first vacation and cruise then to Puerto Rico, and later to the Caribbean numerous times; to Alaska numerous times; to Canada, Scotland and London where John researched his Finlayson Highland Scot roots, and to a Finlayson reunion in New Zealand; to Europe, including the Norwegian coast where his Wick grandparents had emigrated from in the 1880s, to Normandy and more. In later years, they covered many thousands of miles in their motor home, with a last trip in 2012.

Helen's memory loss necessitated her move to the nursing home in Black Earth in June 2012. In her last four years, John visited nearly every day, walking with her through the halls and often taking her out to lunch and on Sundays to church. His tender care for his beloved "Helen Ann" set a marvelous standard for all of us.

In the years after Helen died, John engaged in the Mazomanie area, publishing pictures on Google with hundreds of thousands of views; building some shelters and "Helen's Bridge" along the Wolf Run Trail; enjoying lunches at Grandma Mary's with family and friends; hosting the Always Young kayakers, hosting several reunions of retired Wick employees; and he became a ubiquitous sight in the area, riding his bicycle, and later, his adult tricycle, clad in his bright Shoe Box hoodies. His last ride was Friday, December 6, 2024, proudly completing 2,198 miles for the year, despite riding that day with two broken ribs from a fall at home a week earlier that he hadn't mentioned to anyone.

Then, of course, there is the movie character his grandson Derek Kolstad named after him, "John Wick," now a very successful movie franchise. Such fun, as Helen often said.

Tina Zander helped care for Helen in the years before Helen died, and Tina promised Helen she would take care of John. This she did to the very end. And John, along with so many of his family, always received wonderful care from Dr. Janelle Hupp of the Wisconsin Heights Clinic.  His family is deeply grateful to both of them.

His family would welcome memories and stories posted to https://www.hooversonfuneralhomes.com

A time of visitation will be held on Friday, January 31 from 3pm to 7pm at The Grove, 314 Anne Street in Mazomanie. Funeral services will also be at The Grove on Saturday morning, February 1 at 11am.                                                                                                                                          **Due to limited parking at the Grove, a shuttle service will be running between Wick Buildings Systems (405 Walter Rd. in Mazo) and the Grove from 9:30am until 1pm. **

The funeral service will be live streamed at

Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/WddJH2IkuQE?si=W5V-mirn-2zJx_tw

Guests will proceed to Grandma Mary's Restaurant in Arena for a 12:30 luncheon, while the family attends a brief graveside service on the way.

In lieu of flowers, we request that memorials be directed to the Family of John F. Wick. Funds will be used to support the Mazomanie community he loved so much.