Alexander Katovich

Alexander Katovich, a Wautoma resident since 1958, passed away on July 12, 2013 following a short illness. He was born on November 23, 1922 in Kenosha, Wisconsin to Nicholas and Agrippina (Kuchinsky) Katovich. He graduated from Bradford High School, Kenosha, in January, 1942. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the Pacific Theater in World War II from 1943-1945. Alex attended UW-Madison and graduated from Iowa State College in Ames with a degree in forestry in 1950. He was employed by the Wisconsin Conservation Department (Department of Natural Resources) for 36 years, retiring in January, 1986.

Alex married Jane Elizabeth Hackett in Madison on September 10, 1949. Alex is survived by his wife, Jane; four daughters—Carolyn (Lawrence) Hurley, Bethesda, Maryland; Christine (Frederick) Kraemer, Madison; Kathleen (Rollin) Church; and Nancy (Allen) Prondzinski, Wautoma; and three sons—Steven (Elizabeth), Moundsview, Minnesota; Kevin (Sharon), Middleton; and Kerry (Nadine), Fort Atkinson; eight grandchildren—Nicholas (Keri) and Daniel Bohn, Peter (Jenny) and Joseph Kraemer, Laura and Erik Katovich, Gavin and Jaime Katovich; one great grandson, Jonathan Daniel Bohn, and one niece—Diane Leisemann. His parents, brother Nicholas, and sisters Helen and Estelle are deceased.

Alex was fortunate to have Aldo Leopold as his teacher at UW-Madison and followed his philosophy closely. Jake Shapiro, an ecologist from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, was also an inspiration. Alex was instrumental in the soil bank program which encouraged tree planting in Waushara County from 1959 through 1961. Approximately 2-3 million trees were planted in those 3 years, mixing red pine with white pine to diversify the forest. Many thousands of white pine were under-planted in poor oak stands. Since history shows that white pine grew in Waushara many years ago, Alex’s theory was that white pine would be the final forest. Alex also served on the Wautoma Tree Board for several years. Today, Alex’s influence is alive in beautiful mature plantings throughout the county.

In addition to timber management, education was most important to Alex. He gave many talks on wild flowers and ecology and spoke to young people about what leads to a good life. He was very proud of the fact that some schools asked him to talk to their classes for 20-25 years. He would hand out a memo to each group called “Don’t Miss Your Life” referencing many inspirational writings on philosophy. Alex felt that Socrates, Plato and Aristotle continue to be excellent teachers and that it is critical to stress values and ethics to our younger generation. The world needs to make many changes – Alex felt that we can start by reading Plato to understand the qualities of a “good” man.

A remembrance service will be held at Leikness Funeral Home, 358 S. Oxford Street, Wautoma on July 20, 2013 at 12PM (NOON). The family will greet relatives and friends at the funeral home from 10AM until the time of service at 12PM (NOON). Military honors accorded by Wolman-Minskey American Legion Post 317 and the U.S. Army Honors Team will follow the remembrance service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Wautoma Public Library, 410 W. Main Street, Wautoma, WI, in Alex’s name.

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