John "Jack" Edgerton

John L. (Jack) Edgerton passed away on Saturday, May 2. Jack was born in Madison on March 15, 1939 to Orch and Lorraine (McEvilly) Edgerton. He attended Madison West High School and was a member of the Madison West State High School Cross Country Champions in1955. He married Patricia J. Klein at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Madison on July 8, 1961. They were married for 64 years prior to Pat’s death in December, 2025 and had five children.

After graduating from UW Madison in the fall of 1961 with a BS degree in Economics, Jack moved to Stevens Point to be employed by Hardware Mutual (Sentry) Insurance in the Data Processing Dept. He spent 35 ½ years at Sentry in various management capacities and retired from Sentry August 1, 1997. 

Outside of his family, music was the love of his life. Jack spent much of his youth in various music organizations. He was part of the national champion Madison Scouts Drum Corps 1950-58; Madison West choirs and double quartets 1953-57; contemporary quartet “Dischords” 1955-57. Jack joined the Stevens Point Barbershoppers in April, 1962 singing with the Northern Gateway Chorus and various high level quartets throughout his career. While singing tenor with “Ragtime”, he competed in the International Quartet Contests in 1978 and 1979. Ragtime was also the Land O’ Lakes (LO’L) District Novice Quartet Champions in 1977. He held all of the chapter officer positions serving as Chapter President multiple times. He was presented with the prestigious BOTY (Barbershopper of the Year) on multiple different occasions. He served as the chairman of the Singing Valentines, Riverfront Rendezvous and overall chapter contact for many years. He sang with many different quartets over the years. Jack was elected to the LO’L District Board of Directors in 1991 and continued serving as Treasurer for many years. He was elected District President 2001-2002; named District BOTY in 1997; District Hall of Fame in 2005 and District Treasurer. He became a “Contest Administrator” of the International Barbershop Society judging chorus and quartet contests for eight (8) years. In October, 2025, Jack received the Land O’ Lake Lifetime Achievement award which he was able to receive in person.

Jack joined the Sentry Credit Union in 1962 and immediately became involved serving on its Examining Committee. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1973 and served as its Chairman for 25 years. He served on its Board for 45 years before being elected as an emeritus member. On May 15, 2026 he will be inducted into the Wisconsin Credit Union’s Legends of the Movement. 

In the early 1980’s, Jack became a member of the Community Parks Improvement Committee (CPIC) which runs the Sentry Classic basketball and hockey tournaments. He served as the Treasurer for a number of years and then as President of the organization. He was recently recognized for all of his service contributions during the 2025 Sentry Classic.

Jack was the recipient of the Stevens Point Area Foundation John W. Joanis Award for Community Service in 1991. He served on the Board of Directors of the Portage County Red Cross and the Management Team of the Special Olympics of Wisconsin Summer Games. He is a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus. 

All of his children attended catholic school in Stevens Point. That prompted Jack to be involved with the Stevens Point Catholic Schools for many years. He served as the president of the Pacelli Athletic Association in the 1980’s. He was a member of the Pacelli Catholic Schools Finance Committee since 1997 and member of the Pacelli Foundation Board for nine (9) years ending in 2017. He enjoyed running the scoreboard for many Pacelli home football games over multiple years.

Jack was involved with St Stephen Parish for many years. He and his wife served as president couple of the Home & School Assn. for several years while their children attended school there. He joined the parish Finance Council in 1997 and served as the Parish Treasurer. He served as an usher for the weekly 8:30 Sunday mass right up until breaking his arm in the winter of 2025.

Jack joined the Stevens Point Curling Club in the mid 1980’s and soon became the Treasurer of the club. He was elected President 2011-12 and 2012-13. The highlight of his curling career came in March of 1995 when his team achieved an “8 End” perfect score.

Jack was an avid horseshoe player. He was a “charter member” of the Double Ringer Horseshoe League serving as its secretary/treasurer for many years. He loved to golf. On August 29, 2008, he had a “dream come true” when he shot a “hole-in-one” on the 12th hole at the Wisconsin River Golf Club. He also loved playing cribbage, especially winning!

Jack was an avid Green Bay Packers, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, UWSP Pointers and Pacelli Cardinal sports fan, but above all, he was very proud to be a Wisconsin Badger and was commonly seen wearing Badger red attire. He enjoyed attending as many Badger football games as he could and was frustrated in his later years when it was too difficult to walk to and around the stadium so needed to watch on TV.

Jack and Pat spent much of their later years doing things with their children and grandchildren. The family purchased a cottage on Silver Lake in Wautoma, and spent over 24 years together during many summer weekends.

Jack is survived by his five children, Denise (Mike) Kachel, Onalaska, Jay (Wendy) Edgerton, Oshkosh, Debbie (Randy) Groh, Omro, Darci (Dan) Jurgella, Plover, and Dena (Scot) Barton, Stevens Point, 13 grandchildren, Jeff (Dana) Sadlemyer, Jim (Kacey Pennycook) Sadlemyer, Sara (Tom) Frazer, Chris (Lauren) Kachel, Tim Kachel, Molly (Kyle) Phelan, Michael (Jenna) Jurgella, Lauren (Zach) Jensen, Brett (Marnee) Barton, Eva Barton, Kalina (Dan Van) Roland, Grant (Kim) Roland, Kayleigh (JJ) Arraiza, and 16 great grandchildren, Sawyer Sadlemyer, Atleigh Sadlemyer, Nolan Frazer, Addison Frazer, Greyson Frazer, Will Kachel, Ben Kachel, Olivia Phelan, Tate Kachel, Jackson Jurgella, McKenzie Jurgella, Skylar Jensen, Raelynn Roland, Haisleigh Arraiza, Kash Arraiza, Krue Arraiza, Baby Boy Phelan (arriving soon), his siblings Susan (Jack) Sell, Tom (Peggy) Edgerton, Jim (Jean) Edgerton, Joe (Nancy) Edgerton, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife Pat, his parents, and his brother-in-law, Jack Sell.

In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established with the Stevens Point Barbershoppers, Pacelli Catholic Schools, St Stephen Church and St Croix Hospice.

We would like to thank the wonderful caregivers at Whispering Pines and St. Croix Hospice for providing Jack a warm and caring home away from home.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Jack will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at St. Stephen Catholic Church, 1401 Clark Street, Stevens Point. Rev. Jeffrey Hennes and Monsignor Steve Kachel will officiate. The visitation will be on Friday from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM at Pisarski Funeral Home, 703 Second Street, Stevens Point. The family invites those in attendance to wear Wisconsin Badger Red in honor of Jack. There will be rosary prayed by the Knights of Columbus promptly at 7:00 PM on Friday evening. The visitation will continue on Saturday from 10:00 AM until the time of service at the church. Pisarski Funeral Homes are honored to be serving the Edgerton Family.