Erling Bjelde

Madison – Erling “Earl” Bjelde, age 85, passed away on Sunday, May 27, 2012 while surrounded by his family at Agrace HospiceCare, Inc. Earl was born on July 20, 1926 in Lewiston Township, Columbia County, Wisconsin, the son of the late Norvald and Cleo (Heitkam) Bjelde.

He graduated from Edgewood High School in 1944. He was a veteran of WWII, having served with the U.S. Navy. Earl married Joan Rita Brossard, a fellow classmate of Edgewood High school, on April 15,1950. He began his 45 year career as a Right of Way man with the Wisconsin Telephone Company (now Ameritech) and ended his career as a highly respected Superivising Engineer. Earl had a variety of interests, including reading, history, talking about cars, and had a love for understanding and analyzing the mechanics of things. But most all, he loved spending time with his family, especially with this grandchildren. In addition to Joan, his wife of 62 years, survivors include his children, Craig (Cindy), Mark (Meg), Denise (Evert) DeWitt, and Jon (Lori); his grandchildren, Sarah (Wayne) Tietmeyer, Allison (Aaron) Susdorf, Megan Bjelde, Jessica (Jose) Luna, Lindsey (Colin) Ozanne, Amy (Shane) Pipala, Jason Bjelde and Angela Bjelde; two great-grandchildren, Willard and Georgia Ozanne; his sister, Carol (Edwin “Skip”) Kehl and many friends. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his niece, Lori Kehl.

A Memorial Mass will be held at ST. BERNARD’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, 7450 University Ave., Middleton at 11:00am on Friday, June 1, 2012 with Monsignor Douglas Dushack presiding. Visitation will be from 10:00 am until the time of service at the church on Friday. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to Agrace HospiceCare, Inc.

The family would like to offer a special thanks to the incredible staff, nurses and doctors at Agrace HospiceCare, especially Dr. Westin.