Merry G. Kampmeier

Merry G. Kampmeier, 96, of Stevens Point, Wis., died Friday, August 23, 2024, at Hilltop Alpine Terrace, 1610 25th Avenue S., Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. She was under the care of St. Croix Hospice.

Services will be at 11 am Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 3210 Maple Drive, Plover, Wis. Pastor David Ficken will officiate. Burial will be in the Edgar Cemetery, Edgar, Wis. Visitation will be from 9:30 am until the time of services Tuesday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, we suggest donations given in Merry's name to any organization that would gladden her heart. Ideas include:
⦁    To uplift others and share the good news of God: Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church , Samaritan's Purse (https://samaritanspurse.org/), or your local church or missionary project
⦁    To preserve and protect God's gifts of nature: National Audubon Society (https://www.audubon.org/), or your local Humane Society or conservation group
⦁    To seek a cure to end dementia: Alzheimer's Foundation of America (https://alzfdn.org/), Alzheimer's Association (⦁    https://act.alz.org)

Merry was born November 6, 1927, at her family's farm in the Wood County, Wis., town of Saratoga, to the late Lenora Lillian (Lakin) and John Louis Tesser. She was the eighth of the couple's 10 children.
She attended school at a nearby one-room schoolhouse through eighth grade, and she later attended Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews Academy) in Berrien Springs, Mich., where she completed both high school and college courses. Merry had a lifelong love of learning. She was an avid student of the Bible and enjoyed poring over magazines, maps, and reference books.
During World War II, Merry followed her sisters to work in the Chicago area in a variety of roles, including as a candy striper at a hospital and assembling radios for the war effort.

On February 17, 1957, she was married to Wayne E. Kampmeier at Concordia Lutheran Church in Berwyn, Ill. He preceded her in death March 7, 2007.

Merry treasured her role as a mother and homemaker. She eagerly shared her knowledge of farming, gardening, and preserving food with her husband and children on their 120-acre farm in the Marathon County, Wisconsin, town of Cassel. They raised chickens, beef cattle, and a bounty of produce that Merry was always quick to share with family and friends.

After selling their farm in 1985, Merry worked part time in the cafeteria at Edgar Public Schools, Edgar, Wis., until she and Wayne retired to Bolivar, Mo., where they lived from April 1993 until February 2004, when they returned to central Wisconsin.

Survivors include four children, Eric (Jody) Kampmeier, of Sycamore, Ill., Laurel (Bill) Miller, of Estill Springs, Tenn., Greg Kampmeier of Antigo, Wis., and Susan (Kevin) Sliwicki of Stevens Point, Wis.; four grandsons, Ben (Ann) Kampmeier, of Grand Rapids, Mich., Luke Kampmeier, Stephen (Ashley) Sensenbrenner, of Plover, Wis., and Michael Kampmeier of Waukesha, Wis.; two great-grandsons, Reuben Kampmeier and Ian Sensenbrenner; two great-granddaughters, Abby Kampmeier and Sophia Sensenbrenner; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Merry was preceded in death by her parents, Lenora and John; her husband, Wayne; her brothers, Kenneth Tesser, William Tesser, John Tesser, and Vernon Tesser; her sisters, Lenora Josephine Whetstone, Anna Dehnicke, Pauline Baker, Joy Guido, and Barbara Butcher; her grandson, Richard Kampmeier; and her daughter-in-law, Michelle Kampmeier.

The family thanks the staff of St. Croix Hospice and the staff of Hilltop Alpine Terrace for their kind and compassionate care of Merry.

Pisarski Community Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 2911 Plover Road, Plover, Wis., assisted the family with arrangements.