William "Bill"

Sidney Balaam

William "Bill" Sidney Balaam entered Eternity on June 16, 2023.

He was the firstborn of a set of fraternal twin boys born to Charles S. and Pearl (Mell) Balaam on September 4, 1942.

Following his graduation from Lake Mills High School in 1961 he graduated with a BS from UW Platteville. After college Bill joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Polk Louisiana serving as a Physical Therapist Specialist at the Army's Hospital treating Vietnam soldiers until his discharge in 1969.

On October 24, 1970, Bill married Janet Miller at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Jefferson and together were blessed with two sons and a daughter.

He spent his life working in agriculture as well as a marketing of agricultural products.

Bill loved everything outdoors: golfing, hunting, trapshooting, sailing, canoeing, iceboating, skiing, scuba diving and just plain swimming in the lake. Most summer evenings as Bill returned from work there would be neighborhood children running to the house in their swimsuit carrying a towel begging "Mr. B take me" to the lake for the nightly swim from 4-5 before dinner.

While the Tyranena Golf Club had a "Men's Club", Bill along with his lifelong friend, Lee Engsberg, worked diligently to increase participation and enjoyment in golf events at the course. They spent manyan hour on solicitation efforts, which increased sponsors/donations and prizes for "Men's Day" as well as organizing many Sunday Tournaments. Bill and Lee also partnered in a shop downtown named "The Icehouse" in which they built, repaired, and maintained their ice-boat fleet and sharpened runners for themselves and others.

Bill loved ice sailing and was elated to win First Place in the International Skeeter Association Championship Regatta in 1988. The LM Jaycee organization was also of great interest to Bill and he participated in their leadership and fund-raising events until he reached their age max. There's a great story of a pig escape when Bill volunteered to get a pig to market to be prepped for the first pig roast on the ice for their Winter Fisheree.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Janet; two sons, Michael and Brian (Autumn); one daughter, Diana (Caleb) Howell; granddaughter, Averi; grandsons, Ashton and Donovan; sisters-in-law, Sally Balaam, Marion (Allan) Klokow, Carol (Lyle) Riedl, Rosemary Miller, Elizabeth (Ray) Miller; nieces; nephews; other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Robert; parents-in-law, Edwin and Amanda (Weber) Miller; brothers-in-law, Raymond, Ernest (Karen) and Robert Miller; and his nephew, Donald Klokow.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, 2023 at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Lake Mills.

Friends may call after 9 a.m. on Saturday at the church until the time of mass.

If inclined, memorials would be appreciated in the form of Mass stipends to St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish, St. Jude's or a charity of one's choice.

Many thanks to the staff at UW Health, UW Hospital and Lake Mills Health Services for their care and to Father Alex Carmel for his prayers and blessings.

www.claussenfuneralhome.com