MADISON - Douglas George Witzeling died at St. Mary’s Hospital, Madison, of complications of cancer on Friday, March 29, 2024, at the age of 95. He was born in Wausau, Wis., on Nov. 18, 1928. Though his legal name was Douglas George, he was baptized as George Douglas-because there was no Saint Douglas.

During the Depression, his parents, Fred and Margaret (nee Wolfe) Witzeling, started and grew a home construction company-Modern Builders. While his two younger brothers, Eugene (Jim) and Claude eventually joined the business, Doug chose a different path. (His parents and brothers all pre-deceased him).

After a couple of years at the tech school in Wausau, Doug came to Madison to work on a degree in History and met Barbara Botham, a waitress at a local Rennebohm’s cafeteria. He didn’t finish the degree, but he did marry Barbara in 1952. After a couple of years in the grocery business (in Dubuque and Appleton), Doug moved the family to Madison and started selling plumbing fixtures wholesale. In November of 1968, he started at Wisconsin Supply. Eventually the business became First Supply Corporation, and he worked his way up to become vice president and sales manager. He retired from there in November of 1993. Being a practical man in good health, he occasionally took other jobs during his retirement, and served for years as a driver with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

Though he worked with intensity throughout his career, he also enjoyed participating in sports (slow-pitch softball, bowling, golf), and the hunting and fishing he’d grown up with. As he and Barbara got older and more comfortable, they also enjoyed traveling, especially with or to visit their 10 children.

The names he accumulated over time included Doug, Dad, The Big D, Opa, and Mister Wonderful.

The death of his wife, Barbara, in 2012, and later his sons, Steven Robert and Thomas Peter, were all blows, but he is survived by eight children and 11 grandchildren, daughters, Carol Anne, Ruth Anne (Lawrence) Flescher, Jo Anne Bristol, Jenifer Anne (Bruce) Davis and Kathleen Anne Torbleau; and sons, David Douglas (Jean Bink-McGrath), John Michael and Daniel Edward (Dorothy).

A life-long Catholic, Doug was a member of St. Dennis Parish for 63 years. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at ST. DENNIS CATHOLIC CHURCH, 505 Dempsey St., Madison, at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. A luncheon and Celebration of Life will be held at church immediately following the Mass. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of the Mass on Tuesday.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Agrace HospiceCare. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420

Douglas George Witzeling

November 18, 1928 - March 29, 2024

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