GP (Gaylord Paukstis) Wiemer

PARDEEVILLE - GP Wiemer passed away on the morning of Aug. 30, 2024. Gaylord Paukstis Wiemer was born on March 22, 1936, and grew up in Madison, Wis., on Linden Avenue. He graduated from Madison East High School in 1954 and served in the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1961. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and took his combined graduate degree work at the University of Wisconsin and MIT in Physics.

GP worked for St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Madison for 29 years where his wife, Joan Margaret Wiemer, also worked. It was there that he was responsible for starting the Department of Clinical Engineering, which was primarily instrumental in the development of imaging and peripheral applications in Cardiology. He was the Director of Clinical Engineering from 1970 until his retirement in 2000. He was published in technical papers and Medical Engineering Journals; always working towards safe manufacturing practice and the safe application of advanced technological medical devices. During his tenure at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center, he worked with government agencies, both at the state and federal level to provide for safe and effective medical devices.

Always with a joke at hand and looking for the next lighthearted laugh, GP lived a life of fun and family with his wife and kids in Monona.  Summer was spent sailing on Lake Monona and bike riding and camping. Winters were spent skiing with the kids and planning the next adventure with Joan. As he neared retirement, GP and Joan sold their home in Monona where they had raised their kids and moved north to Pardeeville where they started over in 1996 as empty- nesters on a lake with a pontoon boat and a beloved bulldog with a flatulence issue, Ivan. It was here that GP developed a new set of life-long friends, a circle of people he enjoyed immensely.  He spent many a morning meeting friends for breakfast at Hometown Café in Rio, Red Apple in Portage, On the Way Café in Pardeeville, and fishing in the afternoons and playing in the Pardeeville community band in the evenings. He enjoyed his nightly Brewers games, David Letterman, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

Always interested in aviation, the annual EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh was a highlight of his summers. He was a 32nd degree mason and a past Master of The Commonwealth Masonic Lodge No. 325. He was a dual member of Daylight Lodge No. 362, and was a member and past Trustee of Zor Shrine in Madison. He played the tuba in the Zor Shrine Concert Band and was a member of the Zor Camel Patrol where he served as treasurer for 13 years. After his retirement from St. Mary’s, he served on the Board of Governors at the Chicago Shrine Hospital for Children, and he enjoyed volunteering time to help transport children from South Central Wisconsin to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago. GP was a member of the Royal Order of Jestors in Madison Court 126. For many years he played the tuba in the Dual County Concert Band in Pardeeville, Wis., as well as the Friesland Band in Friesland, Wis.

GP was preceded in death by his wife, Joan (Wistrom). He is survived by his son, Paul (New York City / Los Angeles); daughter, Claire (Darin) Gallagher (Forest Lake, Minn.); granddaughters, Ryleigh and Teagan Gallagher; and his faithful companion cat, Cowboy.

There will be a celebration of life at CHANDLER PARK, Shelter #2, Chandler Park Drive, Pardeeville, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in GP’s name to The Shriner Children’s Hospital. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420