Richard "Dick" J. Chilewski

Richard (Dick) James Chilewski, age 74, of Coloma passed away April 16th, 2019 at The Waterford of Wisconsin Rapids after a brief illness, surrounded by his family.

Dick was born on August 29th, 1944 in Adams county, son of Stanley and June Chilewski.  Dick grew up farming with his father.  In 1958 the family moved to a small farm of approximately 300 acres that became Triple C Acres.  He graduated from Westfield High School in 1962.  On April 30th, 1966 he married Janice Swen at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Almond, WI.  In 1966, after the loss of his father Stanley, Dick took over managing the family farm with the help of his Uncle Howard Chilewski and his brother Hod.   Over the years, Dick, Hod, Jan and son Chad grew potatoes and vegetables on over 1,700 acres.  He supported the potato and vegetable industries by serving on the Wisconsin Potato Industry Board and was President of the Central Wisconsin Vegetable Growers Cooperative.

Dick enjoyed hunting, fishing and trapping with his family and friends.  Dick and Jan spent time snowmobiling and ice fishing in northern Wisconsin where they eventually bought their own place on a small lake.  Dick was a lot like his mom in his quick wit and his ability to make people laugh.  He was often the life of the party – at a lot of parties!  He could find humor in most anything and always had a story to share.  He loved watching sports and talking (yelling) about them, most often with his son Chad.  He also really enjoyed running the NASCAR Club with his friends and competing with them weekly to pick the race winner.  At the end of the racing season the winner was given the Championship trophy, which he won in 2018.  For the last several years he enjoyed gardening in his raised garden beds.

Dick’s family was the most important thing to him, and he made sure to keep them close and spend as much time as possible together.  He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.

Dick is survived by his son Chad (Jeannine) Chilewski, brother Hod (Nancy) Chilewski, sister Wendy (Mark) Stevens, sister-in-law Sally Dummitt and brother-in-law Jerry (Darleene) Swen.  Dick is further survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.  He was preceded in death by his wife Janice Chilewski, his parents, Stanley and June Chilewski, his brother Larry Chilewski, his sister-in-law Judy Tafelski, brother-in-law Wayne Tafelski and nephew Brad Tafelski.

Visitation will be Tuesday, April 23rd at Stahl Funeral Home in Plainfield from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Funeral Services will be on Wednesday, April 24th at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Coloma, WI at 11:00 a.m.  Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service at the church.  Burial will be in the Hancock Cemetery next to his wife Jan.  A luncheon will be served at the Hancock Community Center, 420 N. Jefferson, Hancock, WI 54943 immediately following internment.

Pallbearers are Paul Leibsle, Peter Leibsle, Lloyd Marshall, Paul Miller, Mark Kerschner and Gary Chilewski, with Lenny Carlton as the Honorary Pallbearer.

The family would like to especially thank the staff from Heartland Hospice for their compassionate, excellent care of Dick.    

In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be established by the family.

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