| Death | 3 June 2024 | Eugene R. Klaas died on 3 June 2024 at age 91 Eugene R. Klaas, age 91, passed away on Monday June 3, 2024, at Orchard Manor in Lancaster surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Dickeyville on April 22, 1933; the son of Leonard and Nellie (Deiter) Klaas. Eugene met the love of his life, Phyllis Landon, at the Platteville Roller Rink. They were married on September 19, 1953, at the St Clement Catholic Church and would have celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary this year.
Eugene was a dancing fool in his early years. He and Phyllis enjoyed going out dancing. Their second meeting was at Rockville Dance, and they enjoyed many more evenings out after that. Eugene farmed for 20 years before he sold the farm and started Klaas Painting with his father. Later, Randy Wanezek joined Eugene and they owned and operated Klaas & Wanezek Painting. Eugene enjoyed the painting he did over the years and loved to go on drives and gladly point out, “I painted that house…and that one and…!” His greatest achievement was painting the interior of the Grant County Courthouse dome. Eugene loved mowing his lawn and took great pride in it. Eugene and his family spent many summers visiting the cabin, Painters Paradise, at River of Lakes in Bagley. After retirement, Eugene and Phyllis looked forward to their 30 years of wintering in Arizona.
Eugene enjoyed tractor pulling, coon hunting, bowling, golfing and metal detecting. He enjoyed going to the Pool Hall/Zippy’s for coffee and a game of Euchre before work. He always got there early to make sure he got a seat at the Euchre table! He also met his friends for coffee at McDonalds and loved going out for ice cream.
Eugene is survived by his loving wife, Phyllis Klaas; six children: Beverly (Ted) Sprague, Kimberly (Daniel) Schildgen, Brenda (John) Brandt, Amy Anderson, Marlene (Steven) Moehlman, and Leonard (Emily) Klaas; 13 grandchildren; and 18, soon to be 19, great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; son in-law, Doug Anderson; and sister and brother in-law, Maxine and Joseph McKillip. |