Richard Rappa

Richard Rappa, 77, died on December 6th, 2021, at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

He was born September 2nd, 1944, in Milwaukee to parents Norbert and Anna (Bartaczewicz) Rappa. He married Serena Gryzinski in Milwaukee on September 13th, 1969.  They were married for 52 years.

Richard grew up in Milwaukee and went on to serve in the air force during the Vietnam war.  Afterwards he worked a few jobs in the Milwaukee area including Falk and Bradley Corporation before he was able to realize his dream of moving north and settled in Kronenwetter.  He worked at Greenheck Fan Corporation as a credit manager for 30 years.  In addition, he was very active in the community where he coached little league baseball and taught CCD for years at St. Marks before becoming a member of St. Therese parish.  He also served on the Kronenwetter redevelopment authority commission for 13 years.

Dick never met a stranger. People who knew him would say he was a very positive and friendly guy with a big personality. To kids he was known as Donald Duck as he had a spot-on impression of him, that he loved to share with little ones.  He was a social butterfly and enjoyed catching up with fellow walkers during his daily walks at the Cedar Creek mall and morning coffee with the guys.  He enjoyed fishing (especially in Canada), hunting and monthly card game with friends but his true passion was golf and he played every chance he got.  He participated in the Thursday night golf league at Pine Valley golf course and thoroughly enjoyed his "business meetings" on the greens as he tried to collect as much candy as he could.

He enjoyed sports and was a dedicated fan of the Green Bay Packers.  When he wasn’t watching or enjoying sports, he enjoyed testing his luck at the casino hoping to hit it big and have them “show him the money.”

The time he spent with his family meant a lot of him.  His children and grandchildren were the apple of his eye.

Richard was the loving father of 3 children: Richele (Louis) Bohm, Massachusetts, Dean, Georgia and David (Laurie) Rappa, Sparta.  Proud grandparents of Dominic, Ashlyn, Connor Bohm and Harper.

His brothers and sisters include Thomas (Pamela) St Germain, Jerry, Saint Germain, Judith (Mike) Hackett, Virginia and Sharon (Dr. Richard) Bagnall, Virginia.  His sister in law Claudia Dorobilski, Franklin, and brother in law Gregory Gryzinski, West Allis.  He is also survived by nieces, nephews, cousins and additional family members and friends.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents Norbert and Anna Rappa, father and mother-in-law Claude and Irene Gryzinski and brother-in-law Robert Dorobilski.

A service to remember both Richard and his wife Serena’s lives will be held on April 19th, 2022 at St. Therese Church in Rothschild, WI.  Visitation will be from 9:30 -11:00 am, the service at 11:00 am followed by sharing happy memories at the Relocation bar at noon in Kronenwetter, WI.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Therese Catholic Church, http://sttheresecc.org  or Peyton’s Promise, https://www.peytonspromise.org/

Our family wishes to thank the doctors and nurses at Aspirus hospital for their loving care.