William John Arendt

William John Arendt, 76, of Gresham, passed away on Monday, June 7, 2021, in Shawano. Bill was born on Sept. 10, 1944, to the late John and Esther (Jung) Arendt.

Bill graduated from West Bend High School and received a football scholarship from Colgate University where he graduated with a degree in Geology. His work as a field geologist, working in mineral exploration, took him to locations in Australia, Brazil and British Columbia.

After returning to the states, he met and married his wife of 49 years, Charmaine “Shari” Nietzer. He started his teaching career in Port Washington in 1973. Teaching life science and chemistry was a perfect fit for him. He would spend hours preparing for his classes in an effort to keep students interested and excited about science. For those who wanted to learn, he believed his efforts paid off.

While teaching at Franklin Middle School, he started a tree planting program. He and his seventh-grade classes planted thousands of trees in the area over several years making this an annual spring event. Bill received state recognition for his tree restoration program and the Dr. Jeffries “Dedicated Teacher” award twice. His passion for football and love for the game led him to coaching middle school football for many years. He retired from the Shawano School District in 2004 after 29 years of teaching.

Bill’s biggest and proudest accomplishment was disassembling an old barn and painstakingly rebuilding and restoring it into the beautiful home he and his wife have resided in for the past 36 years. With limited carpentry skills, pure determination alone allowed Bill to complete this undertaking.

Bill is survived by his wife, Shari; daughters, Terra Arendt, of Green Bay, and Jessica (Bruce) Schaumberg, of Wrightstown. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Callie, Colin, Nolan and Luke; a brother, Robert (Mary Jo), of Sun City Center, Florida, a sister, Debbie Rohloff, of Green Bay; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.

A celebration of life will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 21, 2021, at Swedberg Funeral Home in Shawano. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Monday from 3 p.m. until the time of the service. Inurnment will be in Zion Rest Cemetery in Gresham at a later date.

Special thanks to ThedaCare Hospice Team, in particular Kristy, Jolene and Stuart and the staff at the Cottages for their care and support.

www.swedbergfuneralhome.com