Jay M. Pethke

Jay Mark Pethke, age 60, of Iola, passed away on Thursday, March 20th, 2025. He was born on Tuesday, November 3rd, 1964, in Iola, to Walter and Elaine (Bestul) Pethke. Jay married Cynthia (Cindy) Reeck on November 2nd, 1985, in Symco, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church.

Jay graduated high school in 1983, from Little Wolf High School in Manawa. From there he joined the Army Reserves for 5 years and during that time he attended Fox Valley Technical College to become a diesel mechanic. After he graduated, he went on to work at Ort Trucking in New London. From there he went to work at Packer City International in Green Bay and then moved over to Fabco Caterpillar right across the road. He worked in Green Bay for 12 1/2 years. Then he got an opportunity to fulfill his dream of owning his own business. He purchased Bonikowske Repair in Ogdensburg on March 10th, 2000 and changed the name to Pethke Repair Service. He turned it into a very successful repair shop and STIHL dealership. He had multiple full-time employees, including Tom Seeger and his son Jeremy Pethke. He decided it was time to close and got an opportunity to sell the shop after 23 years of business.

Jay loved his family fiercely. He really enjoyed doing things with them like hunting, golfing, bowling, and shooting pool. He loved giving tractor and four-wheeler rides to his grandchildren. His favorite past time was golf. He had a weekly ritual of golfing 18@8:00 every Sunday at Glen Cairn Golf Course with Todd Much and anyone else who could handle the harassment while golfing. He also loved bowling and was in a bowling league at Silver Lake Lanes in Scandinavia. He started as just a sub and then later joined up with the Tetzlaff Trucking Team. He became great friends with the members of that team. He shot pool on leagues starting out at Bridge View in Symco and then started shooting at Wings Inn. He then ended up at Club 161. He shot in many pool tournaments over the years.

Jay was always a straight shooter and was always willing to go out of his way to help anyone in need. At the shop he was known for dropping what he was doing and helping a customer right away. He was a very loyal husband of 39 years and a devoted father to his three children. When he became a grandfather in 2017, we got to see a different side of him when he softened up his tough exterior. He is very loved and will be missed deeply.

He is survived by his loving wife, Cindy (Reeck); his children: Jeremy (Samantha), Heather (Dennis) Arndt, and Brittany; his grandchildren: Joseph, Aaron and Matthew Pethke, Devin Arndt and his fur-grandbaby Stella; his mother, Elaine (Bestul) Pethke; his siblings: Wally (Bonny) Pethke, Dale (Joyce) Pethke, Mary (Steve) Bauer, Sally (Bruce) Raisler, and Tom Pethke; his uncles, Marvin (June) Pethke and James Bestul; his aunt, Ardella (Arthur) Pethke; mother-in-law, Bernice (Knapp) Reeck; sisters-in-law, Debbie (Dale) Schmandt and Lori (Steve) Dillenburg; brothers-in-law, Greg (Jamie) Reeck, Jeff Reeck, Randy Reeck, Ronnie (Lori) Reeck, and Mike (Anne) Reeck. He is further survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins, and relatives and friends.

He is preceded in death by his father, Walter Pethke; his father-in-law, Gerald Reeck; his nephews: Ryan Pethke and Austin Reeck; great-nephew, Kendrick Schmandt, and many aunts and uncles.

A Funeral Service for Jay will be held at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Symco on Tuesday, March 25, at 11:00 AM with the Rev. Jeff Smiles officiating. Visitations will be held at the Dahlke Life Celebration Center in Manawa on Monday, March 24th from 4:00 - 7:00 PM and on Tuesday at the church from 9:30 - 10:45 AM. Interment will be in the Union Cemetery in Symco.

We want to extend a special thank you to Valley Family Medicine, NeuroScience Group, Thedacare Neenah, ThedaCare Appleton, and Manawa Community Nursing Center for their exceptional care and comfort for Jay and our family during this time.