Barbara A. Meronek

Barbara A. (Omernik) Meronek, age 89, of 2551 Sumac Lane, Plover, Wisconsin, died early August 31, 2026, at Cardinal Grove Assisted Living in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, after a multidecade battle with kidney disease.

A prayer service for Barbara will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 17, 2026, in Plover at the Pisarski Community Funeral Home, 2911 Plover Road, Plover. Visitation for friends and family will be from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the prayer service at the funeral home. Burial will follow on a later date at St. Bronislava Catholic Cemetery also in Plover. Pisarski Funeral Homes are honored to be serving the Meronek family. For online condolences please visit www.pisarskifuneralhome.com.

Barbara, the second of five children, was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on July 27, 1937, to Barney F. Omernik and Alice D. (Komperda) Omernik. Barbara was a 1955 graduate of Maria High School in Stevens Point. In 1959 she graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point with a B.S. degree in Intermediate Education. On June 27, 1959, she married the love of her life, “Mr. Wonderful” as she occasionally called him, Leo J. Meronek, of Stevens Point at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Stevens Point, recently celebrating their 67th wedding anniversary.

Between the years of 1959 and 1991 Barbara initially taught full time and later, after taking time off to start a family, as an elementary substitute teacher in the nearby Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, where she and Leo resided most of this period. From 1980 to 1985 Barbara was employed as an unemployment compensation clerk for the then named Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations at their Wisconsin Rapids office. She continued her education at Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin Rapidswhere she earned an A.S. degree in Business Administration and Personnel in 1991.

From 1991 to 2002 after Barbara and Leo relocated to Naples, Florida, Barbara was employed at and eventually fully retired from working from Edison College in Naples as a Registrar and International Student Advisor. Barbara GREATLY enjoyed her time at Edison interacting with the wide variety of international students from across the globe who went to school there – never missing an opportunity to talk about those experiences! Barbara and Leo then returned to Wisconsin Rapids for a short stint from 2002 to 2004 while continuing to “snowbird” in Florida for three more winters before finally returning permanently to Wisconsin and Plover in 2005.

Throughout her lifetime Barbara most enjoyed multi-generational family gatherings, reading, flowers, birding, fishing, sewing, a variety of types of music (especially LIVE performances!), distant and frequent local/area travels she and Leo often referred to as “Rides to Nowhere,” and pursuing lifelong learning experiences to expand her knowledge any way she could.

Barbara is survived by her husband, Leo, and their three sons: Mark (Kathy) Meronek of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; Kent (Gina) Meronek of Clermont, Florida; and Lance (Krystal) Meronek of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. She is also survived by four grandsons: Nathan (Rebecca Ramirez) Meronek of Arkdale, Wisconsin; Sebastian “Sam” Meronek of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; Marshall Plawman of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; and Kaiden Plawman of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Barbara is further survived by three siblings: Dolores Prohaska of Rothschild, Wisconsin; Mary Jane (Richard) Malick of Naples, Florida; and Fredrick (born Omernik) Nicks and his wife, Sue Nicks, of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and other family members also survive. She was preceded in death by her parents Barney F. and Alice D. (Komperda) Omernik of Stevens Point (Village of Whiting), Wisconsin; brother Robert J. Omernik of Stevens Point, Wisconsin; brother-in-law Edward Prohaska of Rothschild, Wisconsin (husband of Dolores Prohaska); and sister-in-law Irene L. (Meronek) of Ramona, California.

Barbara always said that if someone wanted to give her flowers, then they should do so while she lived and never after she had died! She specifically requested in lieu of flowers at her funeral (or after) that a donation be made, if desired, to one of the following charities in no particular order: The Boys & Girls Club of Portage County (Wisconsin); the Green Circle Endowment Fund via their official parent charity, the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin; and/or the United Service Organizations (better known as the “USO”)