Dr. John Mielke remembered by community

Dr. John E. Mielke, 87, Appleton, was remembered, personally and through his family’s foundation, as a strong benefactor of the Shawano community following his death Nov. 4.

Following in a family tradition, the physician was a force for positive change in education, health care and the arts in the Shawano area.

Rhonda Strebel, Shawano Common Council district 2 alderperson and Rural Health Initiative director, recalled Mielke as a person who “cared deeply and would really listen.”

The Rural Health Initiative, a screening and wellness program for farmers, started with a ThedaCare Inc. “plunge,” where community leaders take a deep look at a community issue.

“In 2002 we got on yellow buses to experience the day in the life of a farmer—long days, early mornings, isolated, and self-insured,” she said. The group discovered that farmers were not coming into the clinic for health care. They couldn’t get away and didn’t see the service as affordable, she said.

Strebel recalled that Mielke’s response was, “Why can’t we come to the farm?”

That question led to the formation of the Rural Health Initiative in 2002. The program, the first of its kind in the country, continues today.

His ability to listen is what set him apart, both in his practice and in the community, she said.

“He told me, ‘I want to be a listening ear. If you just listen to people long enough, they will tell you what’s wrong,’” Strebel said.

Steve Grover, a member of the Mielke Foundation board, recalled Mielke “certainly had a presence when he was in the room” when the foundation board met.

“John had a way of looking for the big idea and how it could be impactful in the community,” Grover, an accountant with Kerber-Rose in Shawano, added.

Mielke had more experience than anyone in the room in looking for the “big idea” that he defined as something sustainable that the foundation could support in the Appleton and Shawano communities, Grover said.

As Grover knew he didn’t have the same kind of experience, “I learned a lot on how the Mielke Family Foundation found projects that could be successful and make a difference.

“John would say, ‘This is how we look for that idea,’ and that’s what he taught me,” Grover said.

One of the more visible projects the Mielkes supported through the years is the Mielke Arts Center on a 24-acre parcel donated to the county by Edward, John’s father, in 1976. The theater received its present name in 1992 and remains in county ownership.

“We wouldn’t have the theater if it weren’t for the Mielke family,” said Ann Van Grinsven. She is currently co-chair of the Shawano County Arts Council and longtime member of the Box in the Wood Theatre Guild and has been associated with the arts and the local theater for about 40 years.

She said the Mielkes occasionally attended performances and events in Shawano, especially when Ed Grys, now-retired Little Rapids Paper Mill manager and former Shawano resident, was on the foundation board.

Van Grinsven observed, “We’re lucky as a small community to have the support of the foundation,” Van Grinsven said, adding that the foundation has often been the source of funding for major projects.

Mielke was born in Appleton Feb. 3, 1933, son of the late Edward and Beulah (Connel) Mielke.

He graduated from Appleton High School in 1951. He received his undergraduate and medical degree from UW-Wisconsin. Madison and UW Madison Medicine in 1958. Mielke did a medical internship at University of Minnesota 1958-1959, before serving in the Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Vietnam from 1960-1962.

He returned to a residency in internal medicine and cardiology at Mayo Clinic from 1959-1960 and 1962-1965.

Mielke practiced cardiology in Appleton from 1965-2000. He established the first intensive care unit, cardiac care unit and cardiac catheter lab and collaborated establishing the coronary artery center at Appleton Medical Center (AMC).

In addition to his family’s foundation, Mielke was active in Memorial Presbyterian Church, Outagamie Medical Society, AMC Medical Board, Rotary, Appleton School Board, Board of Visitors Waisman Center, Appleton Education Foundation, Community Foundation, Common Ground, Building for Kids and Shawano Rural Health.

Mielke married Sally Morey on April 12, 1958. She survives him along with children John Jr. (Kris), Doug (Erin), Martha (Clark) Burdick, Don, Becky (John) Reyhons and Ellen (Lisa) Waterman; grandchildren: Sarah, John, Jenna, Taylor, Troy, Jake, Eric, Laura, Mark, Hoke, Clayton; great grandchildren, Will and his sister, Lois Plekenpol.

His parents, sister Ellen and brother Bill preceded him in death.

He loved playing golf, gardening and building model railroads. His children and grandchildren were his special loves.

A private family service is being planned.