Paul Streufert

Paul Richard Streufert, 76, Wausau, died Monday, January 11, 2021 at Cedar Creek Manor under the care of Aspirus Comfort Care and Hospice Services.

Paul was born November 2, 1944 in Glencoe, MN to the late Rev. Edgar and Verona (Norlander) Streufert. Paul achieved his Master’s degree in Social Work prior to being drafted into the US Army during the Vietnam War. He honorably served as a Captain in the Medical Service Corps from Sept. 1969 to Sept. 1972. Paul began his career with the Lutheran Children’s Friends Society as an adoption counselor. He moved to Family Counseling Services in Wausau, WI serving clients in various areas dealing with addiction and family counseling. Later he became the Director of Family Counseling Services. His career evolved into an emphasis on counseling for Vietnam Veterans, where he developed a program for helping his brothers and sisters who had served in the Vietnam War.

Paul was a man with a gentle spirit willing to give all of himself both professionally and personally to those in need. His faith and devotion to his church and family helped to motivate him throughout his life. Over the years, his giving spirit was evident through his many mission trips to places such as Tijuana, Guatemala, Neah Bay WA, Newcastle PA, New Orleans LA, and Southern Wisconsin when natural disasters ravaged these areas. In addition to his years of service to his Church he also sat on the board of directors for the United Way serving Marathon County.

In his free time, Paul truly enjoyed gardening, bicycling, working on his hobby farm and rental properties. He loved any handiwork he could do, but his favorite was painting and he was always the first to volunteer to help others paint. Quieter times found Paul reading historical fiction.

Paul is survived by his beloved wife Sue; daughters, Megan (Seth) Bauer of Spooner and Julie (Myron) Gadke of Wausau; Sue’s children, Matthew (Kristen) Rahn of Sarasota, FL and Christopher (Gretchen) Rahn of Appleton; grandchildren, Lauren (Michael) Powers, Logan (fiancé, Danica) Bauer, Austin Steiner, Jake Steiner, Tanner Gadke, Jadyn Gadke, Joshua Rahn, Zachary Rahn, Bethany Rahn, Caitlyn Rahn and Tyler Rahn; siblings, Charlotte (Ron) Udy of Ogden, UT and Rev. Phillip (Becky) Streufert of Seattle, WA and extended family and very dear friends.

A private memorial service will be held for Paul’s family that will be live streamed and recorded; you can find the link at helke.com, on Paul’s obituary page. The service will be held at 3:00 Saturday, January 23, 2021. Helke Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements; we invite you to sign our family guestbook at helke.com.

Memorials may be directed to a local organization that supports Veterans:

Patriot K9s of Wisconsin with a direct link for donations on their website: patriotk9s.org.

Sincere gratitude goes to Linda and her staff at Cedar Creek Manor, Bernie from palliative care, and the nurses and staff of Aspirus Comfort Care and Hospice Services for their extremely compassionate care for Paul.