William Richard Havlik

William Richard Havlik passed away November 15, 2022 at 89 years of age.  Our dad devoted his life to caring for and providing for his family, especially in his last years as he tirelessly provided care for Patricia, his wife of 50 years.  He was so proud of his daughters Lisa and Andi, his grandsons, Christopher, Danny, and Mikey, and his “Princess”, granddaughter Genevieve.  He championed his children and grandchildren and was fiercely loyal.  It was amazing to have him reliably in our corner, and is so hard to have him missing.  Bill listened more than he talked, offering up his sarcastic wit, and providing wisdom after he had an opportunity to mull things over.  He could usually be found tinkering with his computer, or in his woodshop building or fixing something – he could fix anything.

Bill was born in June 1933, the fourth child and only son of Dorothy and Anton Havlik.  He grew up in Milwaukee, close to his extended family, older sisters, and their husbands.  His first job was setting pins in a bowling alley when he was ten years old.  He went on to work at a grocery store in his teen years while he attended Juneau High School, and after his father’s death, he enlisted in the Army and served as a Sergeant in the Korean War.  Upon his return from Korea, he attended Michigan State on the GI Bill, returning to Milwaukee after graduation.  Bill worked for the Godfrey Company in Waukesha for thirty-five years, serving as the Manager of Merchandising for the company that owned Sentry Foods stores.  Bill and Patricia were married in 1972 and they moved to Lauderdale Lakes in 1976, after living in Oconomowoc for a few years.  A jack-of-all-trades, there was nothing Bill couldn’t do, and he did much of the work building their new home himself.  He spent his free time over the next twenty-five years fixing and building things, mostly at Patricia’s request.  In his younger years, he was a gymnast at Michigan State, he enjoyed water and snow skiing, golfing, playing tennis, watching his girls participate in all their activities, and biking (although he did not enjoy getting lost and biking miles and miles out of the way when Patricia had a “short-cut”).  After his retirement, Bill and Patricia traveled and enjoyed their time, grandchildren, and many friends on Lauderdale Lakes.  They spent time in Naples, Florida every winter, and over the years traveled to Switzerland, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and Hawaii.  In his early 70s, Bill started mowing fairways for his son-in-law at Lauderdale Lakes Country Club, to help him out and “have something to do”.  He continued working several days a week during the golf season into his 80s, enjoying the camaraderie with the guys at the shop.

Bill is survived by his wife, Patricia (Manning); daughters, Lisa Dettmann-Webb and Andi White; grandsons, Christopher, Danny, and Mikey Dettmann; granddaughter Genevieve White; sons-in-law Paul Webb and Chris White; sister, Lois Washicheck; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Dorothy (Quast) and Anton Havlik, sisters Ruth Wertenberg and Betty Weileder, brothers-in-law Jim Wertenberg, Ken Weileder, and Ralph Washicheck.

A private service will be held at a later date at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

As Dad would always say to us in parting, be safe.