William "Bill" L. Abplanalp

William L. “Bill” Abplanalp, of Waukesha, died Tuesday, January 6, 2015 at AngelsGrace Hospice at the age of 83. He was born on October 29, 1931 in Waukesha, the son of Paul and Josephine (nee Kowalski) Abplanalp, Sr. He was a 1950 graduate of Waukesha High School. On April 14, 1951 he married the former Margaret “Peggy” Eckrich in Milwaukee. He was an Artillery Crew Chief in the U.S. Army and proudly served his country during the Korean War. For 36 years he worked as a heavy equipment operator for Oliver Construction. He was a lifetime member of Soat-Vergenz VFW Post 721 and lifelong member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

He will be sadly missed by his wife Margaret “Peggy” of Waukesha along with their children Gary Abplanalp and Tom (Lee) Abplanalp both of Waukesha. He is further survived by his siblings Barbara Thompson and Richard (Barbara) Abplanalp both of Waukesha and Sally (Dennis) Feryan of Oshkosh, sisters-in-law Jean Abplanalp, Kathleen Sroka and Pat Eckrich, many cousins, nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends, especially the Monday breakfast group from Oliver Construction. He was preceded in death by his parents, infant daughter Katherine, brother Paul “Ben” Abplanalp and sister Nancy Kolanowski.

A special thank you to Dr. Leech, Dr. Burkert, Dr. Wassenaar, the staff of the Heart Unit, the ICU, Betty and all the girls in Medical Oncology at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, as well as AngelsGrace Hospice.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, January 11 from 4:00 p.m. until the 7:00 p.m. Vigil service at Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home, 1110 S. Grand Ave., Waukesha. Prayers continue at the funeral home on Monday, January 12 at 12:00 p.m. followed by the procession to St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 822 N. East Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186 for the 1:00 p.m. funeral Mass. Fr. Bill Key will preside. Graveside services will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery. Memorials in William’s name are appreciated to St. Joseph Catholic Church (address above) or to the charity of donor’s choice. Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home, Crematory and Preplanning Service is honored to serve the family. For further information, please call the funeral home at 262-547-4035 or visit our website at www.waukeshafunerals.com for directions or to leave the family an online tribute message.