Roger Pukall

Roger Lloyd Pukall, of Arbor Vitae, slipped peacefully into eternal life on October 28th, at his home in Arbor Vitae. He was 95 years old. He was born July 21st, 1920, in Shepley, Wisconsin, the eldest child of Fred and Marie (Ruhbusch) Pukall. Roger graduated from Wittenberg High School. The family moved to Arbor Vitae in 1937 and started Pukall Lumber Company. Roger started in the business by buying standing timber, tallying the lumber produced in the sawmill, and delivering lumber to customers. Roger enlisted in the Army Air Corp in January 1943 and trained as a Navigator in Louisiana. He served as First Lieutenant in the 459th Bomb Group which flew B24 Liberators on missions against oil refineries, airfields and railroad yards in German-held southern and central Europe, briefly from Tunis, North Africa, then from Cerignola in southern Italy. He flew 51 missions and was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross. On July 25th, 1945, he was united in marriage with Mary Underwood in Toronto, Ontario. Mary joined him in Arbor Vitae after Roger was discharged from the Army Air Force later that year He took over management of Pukall Lumber Company in the late 1940s, and remained President until his death. Roger steadily expanded and modernized the business, and Pukall Lumber is now the largest softwood sawmill in Wisconsin. Under his direction, the company grew from a handful of employees to one of the largest employers in the Northwoods. He believed strongly in “giving back” to the community and along with his wife, Roger established the Pukall Lumber Foundation in 1973, to support area non-profit organizations as well as national aide organizations. Roger served on the Lakeland Airport Commission from 1946, when the Standard Oil Company first turned the airfield over to the town of Arbor Vitae, until 1990. He joined the board of directors of the Lakeland Memorial Hospital in 1953 and was still serving in 1972 when the hospital received the bequest from Howard Young to construct the new hospital. He was among a handful of directors to be selected by Young’s legal team to continue on the new Howard Young Medical Center board, until the mid 1980’s. Pukall also served on the board of directors of Lakeland State Bank (later F&M Bank and then Citizens Bank) for many years. He enjoyed fishing trips to Lake Nipigon, Ontario with his buddies, bird hunting in South Dakota, and golf. Roger also had his pilot’s license and enjoyed flying. However, Roger’s greatest joy in life was being a lumberman. He served on the boards of several lumber industry organizations including the Northern Softwoods Lumber Bureau and the Lake States Lumber Association, and was an early and assertive advocate of quality control and industry standards in softwood lumber manufacturing. He loved coming to work and overseeing the plant and the manufacturing, and interacting with customers and employees. His last day at work was about three weeks before his death. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 67 years, Mary, in February 2013, and by his brother Lloyd in 2011. He is survived by daughters Debra Christensen of Bloomington, MN, and Susan Pukall (Rick Wilson) of Arbor Vitae; a grandson, David Christensen, and granddaughter, Alison Christensen; three step-granddaughters, Whitney Wilson, Kristi (Walker) Higgins and Emily Wilson. The Pukall family would like to give special thanks to Kelly Kuehl, Nancy Stowe, Lisa Zarda, Karin Jagger and Erica Gammie for their loving care for Roger. Visitation will be on Friday November 6, 2015 from 4-6 PM at the Bolger Funeral Home-MINOCQUA CHAPEL. Service will be on Saturday at the Calvary Lutheran Church at 2 PM with luncheon reception at Chef Rene's at Timber Ridge immediately following. In lieu of flowers, donations to Calvary Lutheran Church or the Howard Young Foundation would be appreciated.

Roger Pukall

October 28, 2015