Lucille Margaret Guderski

Lucille Margaret Guderski, age 98, of Markesan, WI, passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, with her son Tom and dog Princey at her side.

She was born on December 20, 1926, in a farmhouse on West Bend Rd. a few miles east of Theresa, WI, the daughter of Otto and Clara (Menger) Frings. She thrived on life as a farm and country girl and proudly boasted of being her Dad’s “hired man”. The family then moved to a farm by Hustisford, WI. She forever loved cows and enjoyed hand milking and all the other farm chores before going to school each day. Lucille never considered the duties as work, just a way of life, a good way.

After graduating from high school, Lucille worked as a secretary in Milwaukee. On September 27, 1947, she married Ralph Guderski. They had two children, a daughter Linda and son Thomas. Lucille and Ralph loved the water and had a home on Lake Keesus and then Friess Lake before finally settling on Little Green Lake near Markesan, WI. Lucille loved all the benefits of lake life; fishing, ice skating and boating. The luxury of overlooking a little marsh afforded wildlife viewing at its best; waterfowl, songbirds turtles and frogs. The sights and sounds were always appreciated.

Canine companions were a huge part of Lucille’s life. Many hours of every day were spent loving and spoiling them with long walks, car rides, and belly rubs. Boxers, a Newfoundland, German Shorthairs, Labradors, and plenty of mixed breed rescues, Lucille loved them all.

Her husband Ralph passed away in 1983, but her son Thomas always kept her company, doing so until her last breath. Their combined love of nature and the outdoors matched perfectly. Together they toured the beauty of Wyoming and Montana 23 times. Lucille loved all the scenery and critters but developed a particular passion for grizzly bears, watching the grizzlies was always the highlight of each trip. In 1997 and 1998, Lucille made trips to Churchill, Manitoba, to watch the polar bears. She made many friends on those trips and still kept in touch with them up until this past Christmas.

Lucille loved to travel along with Tom to his cabin in Ashland County. She never carried a gun, but always walked along grouse hunting. She loved the colorama tours, the shores of Lake Superior, the gold of fall tamaracks and the shades of green in spring.

Lucille worked many years for the Title 1 program in the Markesan School District. She loved working with the younger kids and brought home many hilarious stories of something said or done. She was an avid reader and had a large library of outdoor adventure books. She kept updated on her favorite western haunts by subscribing to the Cody, WY, newspaper and the Hungry Horse News, MT. She also received the Glidden, WI, newspaper.

Lucille loved to reminisce and could still recall the names and details of every little farmstead on West Bend Rd. Driving past the old 1 room school house always brought a smile to her face. Years back, Lucille loved to visit her sister Mary in San Diego, CA, with Ralph she traveled by automobile and then by plane. Health issues and ageing eventually prevented physical get togethers but she enjoyed the weekly phone conversations and loved her sister dearly.

She never let health issues interfere with her lifestyle. Even through the end of February, she would ride daily with Tom on his excursions. She loved watching Princey enjoy the dog parks and thought the cutest thing on earth was Princey’s tail wagging when they entered the Tractor Supply Store. Her attitude was phenomenal, she always saw the silver lining, things were always going to get better. Life was always good.

Lucille is survived by her children, Linda (Tom) McLeod and Thomas Guderski; grandchildren, Pamela (Ed) Wagnar, Jodi (Craig) Petersen; sister, Mary Gilligan; niece, Lila (Chris) Hedrick. She is further survived by other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Guderski and her parents.

A visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Markesan Community Funeral Home, 868 North Margaret Street, Markesan, WI 53946.