Orville Wike was born in a house on Harriman Avenue in Amery, Wisconsin on June 26, 1932 the son of Oscar and Idella (Rockne) Wike.

He was baptized and confirmed at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Amery. He attended the Amery Schools and was a member of the class of 1951. When he was 20 years old Orville enlisted in the Army and attended basic training at Fort Leonard in Missouri. After his training he went by boat to Germany, which took 8 days. From there he went by train to France where he served as an equipment mechanic for the next 18 months. After his discharge from the Army he worked for Paulson Auto store in St. Paul. Being single, Orville made a trip in September of 1959 to the roller skating rink in Rush City, Minnesota where he met a young woman by the name of Ann Nelson. In June of 1960 the two of them were married at Redeemer Lutheran Church, and to this union two daughters were born, Susan and Julie. They lived for a short time in Houlton and then moved to Amery in 1963. They bought a house on South Street and spent their entire married life there.

Orville was a busy man around Amery. He operated Cities Service gas station for two years before purchasing a milk route which he operated for two more years. In 1967 he took a job as a door-to-door dairy delivery driver for Land O’Lakes. Then in 1976 Orville went to work for Super Valu Grocery Store in Amery where he continued working until retirement in 1994. Not to be someone who just sat around, Orville then worked part time for Bremer Bank for ten years doing various jobs in his retirement.

Besides his jobs, Orville was very active in his lifelong community of Amery. He served on the Amery Fire Department for 18 years, was a life member of the Amery VFW 7929 serving on their color guard for several decades, worked tirelessly for the Amery Food Shelf for many years, was a very devoted member of the Amery Historical Society as well as a lifelong beloved member of Redeemer Lutheran Church.

Orville enjoyed meeting friends for social coffee time at Ellie’s and the Amery Community Center. He loved lutefisk and “supervising” the making of lefse and other holiday treats. After Ann’s death Orville continued living in his home on South Street, but the past couple years has been a resident of Evergreen Village just a short distance from his home.  Orville passed away at his apartment at Evergreen on Friday evening, August 27, 2021 at the age of 89 years.

Orville was preceded in death by his parents, loving wife, Ann; and his sister, LaVera Mae Grant (Wike).

He is survived by his children: Susan (Daniel) Heathfield and Julie Wike; grandchildren Stephanie (Joseph) Schwartz and David Heathfield; great grandson, Harrison Schwartz as well as other relatives and friends.

Funeral services for Orville Wike will be held on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Amery.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday evening from 4 to 7 pm at the Williamson-White Funeral Home and again for the hour prior to the service at the church.

Last Update: Aug 29, 2021 7:00 pm CDT