Wanda Lorraine Polinski

Wanda Lorraine Polinski (Teel) was born on April 18, 1925, in Joplin, MO, the daughter of Glen and Lorene Teel.

Wanda met her husband, Edwin Polinski, in Joplin where Ed wooed her with perseverance and gardenias, her favorite flower. They married on April 8, 1942. Their wedding did not go as planned when Wanda was forced to have an emergency appendectomy the day before the ceremony. They didn't want to postpone the wedding because Ed , a serviceman, was being shipped overseas, so they had their ceremony in a hospital room with a wrist corsage and an IV attached to Wanda's arm. For years they would joke they probably were not really married because Wanda was receiving pain medication and wasn't fully aware of what she was agreeing to.

After Ed's return from overseas duty, they moved to Kansas City where their first daughter Sue (Suzanne) was born. After service ended, they returned to Wisconsin, Ed's home state. They followed his love for northern Wisconsin and moved to Lake Tomahawk where they purchased a bar and fishing camp called Lone Pine Landing on the Rainbow Flowage. After several years, they purchased a bar and restaurant in St. Germain and saw the birth of their second daughter Sandy (Sandra). Shortly after remodeling and reopening their business, a fire swept through the restaurant and the attached living quarters, destroying the building. With two young children and no insurance, they were able to secure a bank loan and rebuild the business, the Lake Aire Supper Club. For nearly 20 years Wanda was in charge of the dining room/kitchen, overseeing various staff and all of the food preparation, including cooking all the soups and entrees. In 1975, they sold the business and took a well-deserved retirement. 

The couple moved to Eagle River where Wanda was active in a volunteer capacity with the St. Peter's Thrift Shop and the Eagle River Memorial Hospital and developed a network of friends she often joined for lunch or shopping trips. After Ed was diagnosed with cancer, Wanda spent the remaining years of his life thoroughly devoted to his care and their time together. After 58 years of marriage, Ed died in 2002. After his passing, Wanda's family was forever impressed with her resolve to fight off feelings of sadness or loneliness, reconnecting with friends and forcing herself to "get out and do something every day". She was in nearly daily contact with her daughters and thoroughly up to date on her grandchildren's lives and activities.

In later years, Wanda moved to Primrose, a retirement community in Wausau, WI, and lived there until her death. Her love for her family never diminished.

Wanda was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Jim, her sister Bonnie, her husband Ed, and her great grand-daughter Katie. She is survived by her two daughters, Sue (Clarance) Kersemeier of Wausau and Sandy (Bob) Kinney formerly of Rhinelander and now of Mequon, WI and her sister Jean of Lamar, MO. She is furthered survived by her grandchildren, Lauri (Bob) Nooyan, Craig (Diane) Kersemeier, and Michelle Millikin; Daniel (Flonza) Kinney, Ben Kinney, and Sarah (Juan) Hernandez Kinney; her great grandchildren Jamison, Leigh, Alex, Kyle, Ty, Maddie, Jack, Octavio, Luciano, and Ava; and her great-great grandsons Levi and Owen. Wanda's family would like to thank her caregivers who provided her with loving care for the past several years and assisted her in continuing to live in a familiar, home environment.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, January 2, 2025, at 11 am, at Brainard Funeral Home- Everest Chapel, 5712 Memorial Court, Weston. Visitation from 10 am to 11 am, with the service to follow.

Please honor Wanda's life by providing a smile and kind word or deed for members of your family and to your neighbors.