December 17, 2020 at 2:09 p.m.
Joseph Pozarski
Joseph Pozarski
He is survived by his son David (Diane) Pozarski, grandsons: Michael (Michelle), Ryan (Ashley Dobratz) and great-granddaughter Rubi who referred to him as Papa Joe.
He was preceded in death by wife Shirley, daughter Cheryl and 9 siblings.
Joe was a Navy veteran of World War II and an active life member of the Disabled American Veterans serving as Commander, fund raiser and volunteer van driver. He was a private pilot who organized the Civil Air Patrol Squadron in Ashland in 1954 that started a career of civic involvement that included Ashland city council chairman of the JFK Airport Commission, sheriff and fire commission, Ashland deputy sheriff, county Civil Defense Director during the Cuban crisis, president Ashland Lions club, President Ashland Safety Council, Chairman Ashland Democratic Party, named outstanding Young Man of the Year in 1963.
Joe was a qualified search and rescue pilot and served as mission commander on a number of major searches in Northern Wisconsin and UP, retiring from the Civil Air Patrol in 1972 as a Lt Colonel. Appointed an official of the Soo Line RR and relocated to Rhinelander where he also served as the director of the Hodag 50, President of the Wisconsin Valley Traffic Club, Director of the Rhinelander Lions Club. After retirement in 1985 he became county board supervisor from Pine Lake for two terms, worked as a consultant for the Wisconsin Central RR and as an employment examiner for the Federal Bureau of Personnel. Served 15 years on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and was on the design team and co-chairman of a study group for Deer 2000.
Joe was an ardent outdoorsman who hunted moose, elk, caribou, deer, turkey and water fowl. Joe had a strong love of fishing and hunting and exploring in the wilds of Canada and of surf fishing in the Gulf of Mexico where he and Shirley had a winter home. Joe also delivered meals on wheels and worked as a tour guide at the Rhinelander RR Museum. Papa Joe will be missed by many.
A memorial will be scheduled at a later date.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hildebrand Funeral Home & Cremation Specialists, 715-365-4343. Everyone is invited to leave a condolence at www.hildebrandrussfh.com
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