William Walter Uhlig Jr.

William Walter Uhlig Jr., first of his family to be born in a hospital on 11 June 1930, passed away peacefully with his
family at his lifelong beloved Glidden farmhouse on 18 May 2025. He was the son of William
Uhlig Sr, who was the first of his family to be born in the USA, and Mary Uhlig, nee Zimmerman.
She was the daughter of one of the first settlers in the Glidden area who arrived three years
before Glidden was even established. Her father arrived and homesteaded in Shanagolden in
1873.
Bill was a lifelong resident of Glidden, only straying away to serve his country in the Navy
SeaBees and a short attempt at working construction with a lot of other Glidden boys in
Milwaukee where they ended up driving home to Glidden after work on Friday and returning to
Milwaukee Monday morning just in time to go to work. After doing this for a bit they wondered
why they were trying to make something work that just wasn’t right for them and they came
back home permanently to Glidden.
Bill started logging with his father at age 8. He helped with the two man saw and with the team
of horses. At age 9 he shot his first buck. Wm Sr. put him on the stand and told him that he was
going to go back to the farm and hitch up the horses to haul some hay. Bill said that he was
barely out of sight when a small buck approached. He lined up his sights and the deer dropped.
He was so excited that he ran barefooted back to the farmhouse where Wm Sr. asked him what
was wrong because he hadn’t even hitched the horses yet.
Bill logged and farmed in the Glidden area until he was 85. He said that he was very pleased
when in 1947 they got electricity on the farm and he didn’t have to use the pump jack to pump
water by hand for 40 head of cows three times a day. He was also excited to get a party
telephone line in the mid 50’s. He quit working Saturdays in his 50’s and later in his 60’s
decided that it was “too hard on the machinery” to log anymore when it was well below zero or
the snow was too deep. By his 80’s he gave up cutting pulp, saying that “Young Bobby Bay” and
Mike Maier could log the pulpwood because, “they do a good job”. He continued to log the
better hardwood veneer and sawlogs and said that no matter what, he had to at least cut down
one tree when he went to work. He explained that then you needed to do that so that you had
someplace to sit. He loved sharing the woods life with anyone who would listen and would
bring home treasures that he found while out working. A hat full of morel mushrooms or a
bouquet of arbutus for his appreciative wife. Often were the tales of a fawn that he stepped
over, a nest of flying squirrels that climbed over his leg or the big bear or rare moose tracks that
he saw.
Bill loved the outdoors and was a superb fisherman and loved to be out on the water.
Somehow, he knew where the fish would be and how to effortlessly present a bait that would

entice a strike. A skill that he was never able to successfully pass on. Thousands of times he
would tell us to cast by a log or a rock and after a few unsuccessful attempts he would flick his
lure right where yours had just been and pull out a beautiful walleye or trout, proclaiming, “I
got one hung!” This of course caused great frustration in his fishing partners and he would
apologize profusely that he just wanted you to catch a fish. He couldn’t remove the smile from
his face however. Bill fished wherever he could. As a kid he would catch a logging train in front
of the house or ride his bike out east of town to fish. Often staying overnight in a lean-to or
broken-down logging camp building. He fished in many states, Canada, Alaska and the Pacific
Coast from the Gulf of Alaska to Cabo San Lucas. On his last fishing trip, he managed to boat a
beautiful Chippewa River golden musky.
Bill loved to hunt and managed to hunt caribou in Quebec, Dall Sheep in Alaska, deer and
antelope in Montana. While not taking any game while on Safari with Paul’s family Bill loved
the experience of hunting in South Africa. He loved hunting ducks on several trips to North
Dakota with Paul, Cody and Travis. He of course never missed the Wisconsin deer, grouse or
duck opener. He hunted enthusiastically until he was 90 getting his final doe that year on Paul’s
farm. He got his final buck hunting on his own at 87 just behind his farmhouse.
He finished high school in three years. He took a gap year his freshman year of high school
playing hooky to fish and hunt while working on the farm and in the woods. Wm Sr didn’t mind
because he himself started living & working at age 12 in a livery stable because his widowed
mother couldn’t afford to feed him. Eventually the truant officer made a call to the Uhlig farm
and Billy was convinced to go back to school as he said he was required to do until he was 16.
He decided that if he had to go back to school that long he might as well work hard and
graduate with his class so he set his mind to it and did just that.
In the spring of 1954, he was coming out to the road after fishing the East Fork of the Chippewa
River while a pretty young gal was going in with some other of her girlfriends. A teacher in
Glidden, Constance Burlager, asked if he caught anything and he smiled profusely while
showing her his creel full of a limit of trout. (In those days the DNR would stock the river with
browns and brookies). She wondered if he would share his catch and he replied that he, “Left
her a few” in the river. Little did he know then that he had met the catch of his life, or was he
the catch of hers?
Two years later on June 23, 1956 they were married under a bit of scandal in the Washburn
Catholic Church. It turns out that it was a mixed marriage, Bill was Lutheran and Connie was
Catholic. After getting approval from the powers that be the blessed union proceeded. The
honeymoon was off to Yellowstone National Park. A place that was one of their favorites in the
world and they loved to return to.

Bill and Connie lived a life of service. Service to God, family, town and country. Bill served as a
Town of Peeksville Supervisor for over thirty years, Trinity Lutheran Church board president and
many other rolls over the years. He was instrumental in building the new Trinity church on Hwy
13 in 1978 serving as head of fundraising and on the building committee. He organized a work
crew to go to the Dan Rast gravel pit and split rock for the front façade. He logged oak from his
own land and had it sawn for behind the altar, the large cross, the altar itself and the rail. Bill,
Paul and Bill’s brother in law, Clarance Hetfeld worked to have it dried and planed at the mill in
Glidden. Clarence built the altar and cross in his garage and Bill and Paul helped when he
needed strong backs. Whenever someone needed help Bill would figure out how to do
something whether it was putting together Christmas cookie packages for old single
lumberjacks or fundraisers for someone’s emergency Bill could be counted on. Well into his
90’s Bill would be at the Lutheran lunch stand helping out on aching arthritic knees, hips and
back wherever he still could.
After that honeymoon to Yellowstone the travel bug got into Bill and Connie and they loved to
explore and fish the world together with their family. Family trips were mostly to wild places
across the American West and Canada. Later when they were retired, they traveled to Nova
Scotia, Branson, MO, Europe, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii and at 83 Bill took a lifelong dream Safari
to The Republic of South Africa. They also loved taking their grandchildren on fishing and
camping trips across the west and Canada when summers rolled around.
Their marriage was blessed with four children of their own, one foster daughter and dozens of
young folks who were mentored while working on the farm or in the forests, lakes and streams
with him. Their service to others included foreign exchange students who they shared a life
long love of as their foreign sons. Andy Feitknecht from Altdorf, Switzerland and the Cano boys
Alfredo, Paco and Alex from Tampico, Mexico.
Bill lived a full life that cannot be summarized by one small story. He will be missed by all, but
fish everywhere are rejoicing in knowing that they will grow old and fat with his passing. He
bore witness to a time of mainly horses and carriages to jet travel around the world. Living
through WW2 and the great depression he valued everything good in life.
He is survived by his spouse of nearly 69 years Constance Uhlig nee Burlager: half-siblings Oscar
Uhlig of Vancouver, WA, Janet Jones of Pauls Valley, OK, and Joyce Uhlig of Houston, TX; His
children, Mary Hamilton and her spouse John of Corcoran, MN, Paul Uhlig and his spouse
Donna of Fall Creek, WI and Jane Gustafson and her spouse Steve of Butternut, WI, foster
daughter Carolyn Waabinekwe Saari: Grandchildren, Cody, Travis & Laura Uhlig, Jenna and Will
Gustafson; great grandchildren Mathew & Lilliana Uhlig and many nieces and nephews.

He is predeceased by his parents, Brother David & sister Ruth of Ontonagon, MI, sisters Mabel
& Clara of Marshfield, WI, and Sisters Laura & Florence of Glidden, WI; half-brother Fred of CA;
Son David who died at age 2 on Bill’s birthday and Grand Daughter Deanna.
A Christian funeral will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Glidden at 11 AM, on Friday 23
May 2025, with Rev. Ken Lahner officiating. Military honors will follow the service. Visitation
will be one hour prior to the service. Internment will be in Mount Hope Cemetery.