Gaylord "Gay" Unbehaun, age 85, of Brillion, formerly of Avoca, Madison, Sturgeon Bay and Richland Center, passed away on Sunday, November 16, 2014 at his residence surrounded by his family. Gay was born on December 10, 1928 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, son of the late Keith and Helen (Weeden) Unbehaun. He began school in a rural one room school in the fall of 1935 just a few miles north of Richland Center. In March of 1936 his folks moved to a farm just west of Avoca, Wisconsin and he finished his elementary and high school years in the Avoca School system. In the summer of 1946 he dropped out of high school after completing his junior year to join the U.S. Army in order to become eligible for the G.I. Bill of Rights college training benefits. He spent 34 out of 37 months in Gorizia and Trieste, Italy. Upon his return from service in 1949 he enrolled in the Farm Short Course at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and later earned his Bachelors in 1954 and his Masters Degrees in Agricultural Education and Public School Administration in 1956. He married Dorothy Bock on September 9, 1951. Three children were born to this union; DuWayne, Kristie and Nordehl. His first post college employment was as the vocational agricultural instructor in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1954. In 1958, he accepted his first school administrator position at the Ithaca Union High School near Richland Center. In 1961, he and his family moved to Brillion, Wisconsin where he served for 18 years as the Superintendent of Schools. During that time, he also served on the Fox Valley Technical College Board of Directors for six years. In 1979, he took employment at the Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he supervised the Community Outreach program in seven counties as well as the on campus Agricultural Programs, Natural Resources, Home and Consumer Sciences, Interior Design, all of the Culinary Arts Programs, the college cafeteria, evening school supervisor, and the Pulp and Paper Technology Program. He retired after 13 years at Fox Valley Technical College. He retired in 1992 and expanded his efforts to many civic and volunteer projects to which he devoted many hours of time. He served on the Fox Valley Technical College Foundation Board for nine years. He was a member of the Brillion Community Development Committee for 22 years, a member of the Brillion City Community Drive, Board of Directors for 20 years, a member of the Brillion City Council for 15 years, a charter member of the Brillion Optimist Club since 1968 and served as their Newsletter Editor for 14 years. In 1992-1993 he was named OPTIMIST OF THE YEAR. In 2001 he was appointed to the Brillion Housing Authority which operates three public housing facilities for the elderly on behalf of the Brillion City Council. In 2003 he was elected chairman of that board and served until 2014. He served 44 "Committee Years" at his church, sometimes serving on two to three committees at a time. He was active in the Wisconsin Retired Educators Association (WREA) and local affiliates in Calumet and Manitowoc Counties, having served on the board of directors of both county organizations and editor of the newsletter for the Calumet County Retired Educators (CCREA) for many years. With the WREA he also served on the state wide Legislative Committee and as a member of the Nominating Committee for District II. In addition he served on a large variety of committees and boards at the local city, county, regional, state and national levels and was named the "Brillion Citizen of the Year in 2001. In 1995 he served a short term assignment, as an Agricultural Education Advisor to two agricultural colleges in the Ukraine. He and his family traveled extensively in their travel trailer while the children were growing up. They visited all the continental states except Washington and Oregon. Gay and Dottie also traveled to Australia, Hawaii and Alaska and many foreign countries in their retirement. The most precious time was spent with family and friends. He loved spending time at the family cottage; unfortunately, it never seemed to get the full priority it deserved. He is survived by his wife, Dottie of Brillion; their children: DuWayne (Tina) Unbehaun of Oshkosh, Kristie (Dick) Jelinski of Stevens Point, and Nordehl (Susan) Unbehaun of Knoxville, Tenn.; grandchildren: Emily (Dan) Wieland, Hillary (Nic) Hansen, Derek and Alyssa Jelinski, and Gabrielle, Grace, and Ciarra Unbehaun; one great-grandson, Abe; and another one on the way; his two sisters and one brother-in-law: Fern Nelson and Mary (Bud) Fillner. He was preceded in death by his parents, his father-in-law and mother-in-law: Duke and Dorothy (Jones) Bock and two brothers-in-law. Services will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 22, 2014 at the Faith United Methodist Church in Brillion. Military Rites will be accorded by the American Legion Post 126 of Brillion. Entombment at Appleton Highland Mausoleum. Friends may call at the church from 9:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Online condolences may be made at www.wieting-funeralhome.com
