Donald "Donnie" Huehnerfuss

Donald C. Huehnerfuss, 70, of Wausau, passed away unexpectedly on June 1, 2022, at Aspirus Wausau Hospital. The following is respectfully written by Donnie himself, April, 2022.

Donald was born on January 14, 1952, in Wausau to Merlin and Nancy (Kozlowski) Huehnerfuss.  He was employed at Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork for over 55 years and worked closely with the founders in organizing and directing the company in many ways – from sweeping the floors to Senior Vice President positions.  He was very proud of the company and its accomplishments over the years.  When starting at Kolbe there was but 12 employees which as many know, grew to near 2,000 at one point.  Almost all the current day divisions were started by him, from inventory control, purchasing, running the factory, Human Resources, etc.  As said, he was very proud of the accomplishments he led the company through.

He loved fishing and hunting, in his earlier years shooting his collection of firearms.  He loved spending time at his cottage, particularly sitting in front of the fireplace and watching the fire burn.  He graduated Wausau High School in 1970 and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin.  He was a member of the Wausau Elks club for over 45 years.  Donnie was known for his thoughtful, kind, and caring acts of kindness across the community. As he gave in life, he also gave in death, the gift of life through organ donation.

He loved his daughter and grandchildren very much and enjoyed all the time he could with them.  He was also very much in love with the love of his life, his wife Connie, and cherished all the time he could spend with her at home or away on trips, working with her with their puppies or their goats.  His only regret is that they could’ve met or connected earlier in life.

After a life scare in November of 2015, he also realized and wanted to help others in a continuing way and made numerous donations to that effect.  He paid for several Marathon County Sheriff K9’s, continued supporting the Marathon County Literacy Council, made numerous donations to Asprius Health in recognizing several doctors and to the ER department among others, provided funds for numerous AED’s for the Fire Department, as well as provided funds to help obtain new auto CPR devices for the Wausau Fire Department, provided continuing support for the Little Red School House, and several other major contributions for the community.

Donnie is survived by his loving wife Conradine “Connie” Heidemann; children Amber (Tom) Kunau, Jason (Dede) Gnatz, and Jonathon (Haeley) Gnatz; grandchildren Jordan Kunau, Jovie Kunau, Hunter Gnatz, Noah Gnatz, Eleanor Gnatz, and Evelyn Gnatz; close cousins Judy (Randy) Gorski, Sally (James) Reinke, Kathleen (Steve) Gibson, and Carol (Danny) Bogard. He is further survived by extended family, coworkers he considered family, and countless friends. Donnie is preceded in death by both of his parents and grandparents.

A funeral service will be taking place Monday, June 6, 2022, at 11:00 am at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 6205 Alderson Street, Weston. Visitation will begin at 9:00 am until the time of service. Burial will follow at Pine Grove Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Marathon County Literacy Council, 515 N 3rd Street, Wausau, WI 54403.  The service will be livestreamed at www.brainardfuneral.com.

The family would like to give a special thanks to the Aspirus team for assisting in their time of need, care and compassion.