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Walter Raymond (Wally) EKUM

Walter Raymond (Wally) EKUM

Male 1921 - 2004  (82 years)

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  • Name Walter Raymond (Wally) EKUM 
    Birth 20 Sep 1921  Franklin Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • “a twelve-pound boy” as reported in the Vernon County Censor
    Gender Male 
    Occupation Engineer, Licensed Land Surveyor 
    Social Security Number 393-18-4593 Issued In WI Before 1951 
    Death 24 Jun 2004  Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Burial Greenwood Cemetery, Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Graduated from the Ole Torger School in 1935.

      In the 1940 census, he was a senior in high school.

      Graduated from Viroqua High School in 1940. Graduated from UW-Platteville in 1947.

      In the 1943 Madison, Wisconsin, city directory, Walter is a “sub clerk” for the post office. He lives at 109 West Johnson.

      In the 1950 census, he and Marjorie were living with her mother, Edna Schmid, in Monroe.

      In a typed note to Cora from what appears to be December 11, 1965, Theresa Clements mentions that she and Floyd had spent Thanksgiving with Walter and family in Monroe. “They had just moved into a beautiful new home and it sure was nice -- our place looked pretty tacky when we got home.” Theresa and Sally and family (Floyd stayed home) also went to Walter’s for Thanksgiving in 1968.

      Had an abstract office in Monroe. Lived in Monroe but wintered in Florida.

      He resigned from his position as city engineer of Monroe on 31 Jan 1961 “to take over his newly-acquired abstract business.” He had been city engineer from 1951 to 1952 and was rehired in 1955 or 1956. In the intervening period he was a mining engineer with a company in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

      Licensed Land Surveyor in Wisconsin, #650. The license was first issued November 22, 1957, and expired on January 31, 2000.

      Walter’s enlistment record:

      Name:Walter R Ekum
      Birth Year:1921
      Race:White, citizen
      Nativity State or Country:Wisconsin
      State:Wisconsin
      County or City:Vernon
      Enlistment Date:8 Aug 1942
      Enlistment State:Wisconsin
      Enlistment City:Milwaukee
      Branch:Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
      Branch Code:Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
      Grade:Private
      Grade Code:Private
      Term of Enlistment:Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
      Component:Selectees (Enlisted Men)
      Source:Civil Life
      Education:4 years of high school
      Civil Occupation:Engineering Aide (Designated Field) or Sales Clerk
      Marital Status:Single, without dependents
      Height:66
      Weight:131

      Wally and Marjorie donated a 1.63 acre parcel in Monroe, located along 3rd Avenue north of the Moose Lodge, as a city park. The Ekum family also donated a 40’ diameter octagon shelter that was to be constructed in the park in the spring of 2006.

      From the Monroe Times as published Saturday, June 26, 2004:

      Walter Raymond Ekum, age 82 of Monroe, passed away on Thursday, June 24, 2004 at the Monroe Clinic Hospital.

      Wally was born September 20, 1921, the son of Albert and Bertha Ekum, in Viroqua, WI. In 1941, after graduating from high school in Viroqua, WI, he served in the United States Army. Wally graduated from the school of Mining and Engineering in Platteville. He married Marjorie Schmid in 1948 at the Union Presbyterian Church in Monroe, WI. He was employed as an engineer in lead and copper mines in Wisconsin and the upper Michigan Peninsula. The family located in Monroe in the mid-fifties when Wally was employed as City Engineer. He then began his Abstract & Land Surveying Business known as W. R. Ekum Abstracts. In conjunction with his abstract and land surveying business, he served three terms as City Mayor. Wally served on numerous city, county and state committees and organizations.

      Wally is survived by his wife, Marjorie; daughter, Nancy (Richard) Maliszewski; son, Eric (Anne) Ekum; four grandchildren, Ryan, Jeffrey, Nicholas and Elizabeth; a brother, Thomas (Gwynn) Ekum, of Kansas; sisters, Dorothy (Arland) McKittrick of Richland Center, and Sally (Adrian) Sherry, of Onalaska.

      Wally's pride, dedication, and interest in the city of Monroe was never ending.

      A celebration of Wally's life will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, June 27, 2004 at the Union Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Paul Ketterer, family member, of the United Methodist Church in Lake Mills, will be officiating. Relatives and friends may greet the family following the celebration of life at the Peppercorn Cafe. Memorials may be made to the Union Presbyterian Church of Monroe, or the Chicago Shriners Hospital for children. The Shriner-Hager-Gohlke Funeral Home is assisting the family.

      He received a military burial at Greenwood Cemetery.
    Person ID I549  Don Carlson's Tree
    Last Modified 6 May 2022 

    Father Albert M EKUM,   b. 26 Nov 1882, Liberty Pole, Franklin Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 4 Mar 1952, Viroqua, Vernon County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 69 years) 
    Mother Brita Eriksdatter (Bertha Malina) ØREN,   b. 21 Dec 1891, Årdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 11 Feb 1960, Vernon County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 68 years) 
    Marriage 19 Dec 1911  Immanuel Lutheran Church, Viroqua, Vernon County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F116  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Marjorie Lois SCHMID,   b. 1 Dec 1927, Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 3 Dec 2009, Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 82 years) 
    Marriage 4 Jul 1948  Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F395  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 14 Mar 2011 

  • Photos
    Walter Ekum
    Walter Ekum