Edward J. Ehmann Jr.

Edward John Ehmann, Jr., 82 died on January 10, 2015 at Rennes Health & Rehab Center in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

Ed was born on January 25, 1932 to Edward Ehmann, Sr. and Ruth (Kind) Ehmann in Wausau, Wisconsin and grew up in Tomahawk, Wisconsin where the Ehmann family had lived for generations. After high school he joined the US Air Force and served from 1951-1954. Ed attended the University of Wisconsin-Superior (then the Superior State Teacher’s College) where he met Deanna Ledin. They married and had two children while going to school. He graduated with a degree in Biology Education. Following employment opportunities, the family moved to several towns in northern Wisconsin before settling in Tomahawk, adding three more children to the Ehmann family along the way.

Ed spent much of his working life employed by the State of Wisconsin Highway Department and the Department of Corrections. He was particularly proud of working on the road along the Alaskan Pipeline in the 1970s, taking time out from the job to photograph the abundant wildlife. Ed retired from the McNaughton Correctional Center in 1990 after 12 years and immediately moved to his cabin on Spider Lake near Clam Lake, which has been in his family since the 1920s. He lived there until recently when health problems prompted his move to Rhinelander where his two daughters live.

Ed loved living on Spider Lake where he fished, fed the deer and birds and visited with his many good friends and neighbors. He was happiest walking in the woods with his three dogs: Ginger, Annie and Honey. Ed was a devoted Catholic who never missed mass whether it was in Glidden or Clam Lake. He was also a religious Minnesota Viking fan and didn’t care who knew it! Finally, Ed was a generous friend who never said no to anyone in need.

Ed is grieved over by his friend and ex-wife, Deanna Ehmann; daughter Laura Ehmann; son John Ehmann, daughter-in-law Lisa Lehmann; son Joseph Ehmann, daughter-in-law Jessica Ehmann; daughter Debra Ehmann, son-in-law Martin Rowe; half-sister Mary Lou Pace; half-brother Chuck Ehmann; his many friends and his dog, Honey.

All family (including Honey), friends and neighbors are invited to remember Ed with stories, photographs, laughter and tears on Sunday, February 8, 11am-1pm at the Elkhorn Lodge in Clam Lake, Wisconsin. In the spring his ashes will be buried in the Clam Lake Cemetery next to his son, Peter on a bluff overlooking the Chippewa River.

Because Ed loved dogs (even more than flowers!), please make a donation to the Chequamegon Humane Association, PO Box 93, Ashland, WI 54806, if the spirit moves you, as a way of remembering Ed in his community.