Valieta Hanke

Valieta E. Hanke, 101, of Wausau, joined her Lord and Savior on Saturday, June 1, 2019, at Our House Care Facility under the care of Aspirus Comfort Care and Hospice Services.

She was born in Marion on February 27, 1918 to the late Elmer and Frieda (Schmidt) Hitzke. She married Norman Hanke on October 28, 1939. Norman preceded her in death on October 1, 1993.

Valieta enjoyed volunteering and sharing her time with many organizations. She would volunteer with the church, was a member of the Vilas Homemakers Club for over 50 years; was the historian for the Marathon County Homemakers Club, she bowled for the Rib River Ballroom Team for many years, she and her husband Norman were the organizers of the Rib Falls Ramblers 4-H Club, and she was the Superintendent for the open class at the Wisconsin Valley Fair for over 25 years.

Cooking, baking, knitting, crocheting, and needle work were some of the things that Valieta enjoyed; she made many beautiful gifts for family members over the years.

Valieta is survived by her children, Sharleen (Walter) Tetzlaff of Mukwonago, Wayne (LuAnn) Hanke of Marathon and Keith Hanke of Marathon; 12 grandchildren, Carrie (Michael) Obradovich of New Berlin, Kim (Mark) Obradovich of Germantown, Kristen (Tim) Milius of Waukesha, Kevin (Stacy) Tetzlaff of Waterford, Constance (Peter) Swanson of Waukesha, Jodi (Lon) Wilkosz of Marathon, Wendy (Kent) Reinhardt of Merrill, Jayme (Michael) Buttke of Merrill, Terry (Carol) Hanke of Ontario, CA, Todd Hanke of Wausau, Tom Hanke of Marathon and Tracey (Dan) Ugoretz of Weston; 28 great-grandchildren, Tyler, Matthew and Austin Obradovich, Miranda, Nick and Ryan Obradovich, Jacob and Brady Wilde, Silas, Maxwell, and Sofia Tetzlaff, Connor and Garrett Swanson, Andrea (Rocky Bentz) Sebold and Alyssa (Jeff) Rhoades, Kelsey (Ben) LaVaque and Kyle (Geralyn) Wilkosz, Matthew (Ava Gruetzmacher), Marcus and Mason (Andrea) Reinhardt, Henry and Grace Buttke, Kurtis and Jacquelyn Alston, Colin and Allie Hanke, Nathan Hanke and Reese Ugoretz; as well as her four great-great grandchildren, Rielyn, Arya, Roman and Selah.

In addition to her parents and husband, Valieta was preceded in death by her grandson Timothy Hanke.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, June 6, 2019 at the Rib Falls United Methodist Church, 154 East 19th Street, Town of Rib Falls. Pastor Tim Gurlea will officiate. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Helke Funeral Home, 302 Spruce Street, Wausau; and again, on Thursday from 9:30 am until the time services at the church. Burial will take place in the Rib Falls Methodist Cemetery. Please go to Helke.com to sign the family guestbook.

The family would like to thank the staff at Our House and at Aspirus Comfort Care and Hospice Services for their dedication and care for Valieta.