Martin E. "Marty" "Butch" Holzem, age 78, passed away Aug. 18, 2018 at the V.A. Hospital in Madison. This is his story gathered from an interview on: 3/13/2017, by Interviewer: Natalia Matuszewski

"I was born the 16th of October, 1940 in Middleton and have lived there and in the nearby areas for the majority of my life.

Growing up, my father was into construction; digging basements and things like that, anything that had to do with moving dirt.   He was the ruler of the house. I ended up getting into construction later in my life. I also had three sisters, one younger and two older, and I would say that I am kind of close to them. When I was 18, I got into constuction, and (as) well as joined the service and the fire department. I went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, and then returned to Middleton for about a year and a half. Then we were called out for the Berlin crisis; this was back in 1961-62. My training was done on the West Coast and I ended up as an E-5 (Sgt.) with my own platoon.

I worked for my father's construction company for many years, but then I got tired of working for him and got a job up at Thorp. In the mid-1970s I started working there as a public works director. I stayed at Thorp for about two years. While doing this, I was a volunteer firefighter and have been for many years to come.

Back in Wisconsin, I was married to my wife, Jerlyn Becker. As of September, we would have been married for 52 years. She passed away not too long ago. We met when she was a freshman in high school and I had just graduated, so there was about a four year gap between us. Our fathers owned Phillips 66 gas stations on opposite sides of town, and that's how we got to know each other. She worked for Madison National Life Insurance. She was with my dad up in Canada for three or four years for fishing, hunting and mining. She was a prospector. They were interested in quartz mining.

Together, we had one daughter who sadly passed away about eighteen years ago. My wife and I took care of her son after that, and he now lives in Verona and is thirty years old. I would say that we are very close. He's just about to tie the knot, but he doesn't know when, yet.

I'm generally a handy man, and I love building fires. One of my favorite things to do used to be hunting, and I'd fish, too. I started at the age of fifteen and continued until I was seventy. I mainly hunted deer, but I would usually go after a little bit of everything. My favorite area to hunt and fish was in Canada. I am no longer able to go, but it was a lifelong hobby of mine".

He is survived by his sisters, Jane Wheeler and Ruth Griffin; and grandson, James Holzem. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jerlyn Kae Holzem (Becker); a sister, 'Boots' Egstad; and daughter, Janeen Ann Holzem.

A visitation will be held from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm on Aug. 24, 2018 at Hooverson Funeral Home, Hwy 14 West, Mazomanie.