Caroline S. Renzel

    Caroline S. “Carol” Renzel, age 96 years, died Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, at her Harbor Campus residence in Port Washington, Wis.
    She was born Oct. 21, 1923, in Richfield, Wis., to Ludwig “L. John” and Anna Kolvenbach Winnemuller.  
    When she was four years old, the family moved to a small farm in what is now “Sleepy Hollow” in Port Washington, Wis.  After graduating from Port Washington High School in 1941, Carol helped on the farm while working for a local doctor.  
    She served in the U.S. Navy in the WAVES as a pharmacist’s mate 2nd Class during World War II in North Carolina and at Pearl Harbor.
    After her return home, Carol married Robert Welch and briefly lived in Ohio before they bought a home on Johnson Street in Port Washington, Wis., where they raised three kids.
    The marriage didn’t last, and about 20 years later Carol married Ralph Renzel on Dec. 4, 1976. She met him while doing clerical and advertising work at the former Freeman Chemical Co.’s north slip lakefront Office in Port Washington. Ralph predeceased her on May 8, 1994.
    She was active at St. Mary’s Parish and with its Christian Mothers Society. Carol also took minutes for the City of Port Washington Plan Commission and volunteered with the former St. Alphonsus Hospital Auxiliary and hospital kitchen. She was an active quilter through Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington. For many years she continued to care for her daughter Barbara.
    Carol is survived by sons James “Jim” (Sandra) Welch of Denver, N.C., and John “Jack” (Nina) Welch of Louisville, Ky.; five grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. She is further survived by nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
    She was preceded in death by her daughter Barbara Welch; sisters Marie Merrill and Marcella “Marcie” Morauski; and brothers Herman, John, Francis “Franny” and Lambert “Bert” Winnemuller.
    Father Patrick Wendt celebrated a Mass of Christian burial Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, at St. John XXIII Catholic Parish, St. Mary’s Church, Port Washington, Wis.  
    Entombment was at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Port Washington, Wis., with military honors.  
    Poole Funeral Home/Crematory, Port Washington, Wis., assisted the family.
    Information and condolences are available at www.poolefh.com or (262) 284-4431.