Gayle Wilber

Gayle “Willie” Wilber always wanted to own a tavern.

And when she realized that dream, she created something else — a family of friends out of the people who patronized her bar.

“There’s a sign that’s hung on the wall ever since she had her first bar — ‘Someplace where everybody knows your name,’” Ms. Wilber’s sister Gynene Wilber said. “It was like ‘Cheers.” Everyone knew Willie.

“It was a family here. She was very much loved.”

Ms. Wilber, who owned Willie’s Lakefront Lanes in downtown Port, was a loyal friend, and in turn her friends were devoted to her.

When she fell and shattered her ankle and leg last December, her friends came to her aid, her sister said. They not only kept the bar and bowling alley running until she returned to the business this summer, they took care of her.

“She really had a struggle,” her sister said, but her friends watched out for her. “They took her to appointments. They took her grocery shopping. When she got her scooter, if she got caught in the rain on her way home, they would pull over to ask, ‘Do you need a ride?’”

Ms. Wilber, whose nickname was derived from her last name, died Tuesday, Dec. 18, at Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital Ozaukee in Mequon. She was 61.

She died of gastrointestinal bleeding, her sister said, something unrelated to her leg injury.

Ms. Wilber was born in Milwaukee on Sept, 4, 1957, the daughter of George and Gloria Kruger Wilber.

The family moved to Port Washington in 1969, and she graduated from Port High in 1975.

Ms. Wilber worked for Ozaukee Springs, a Port Washington shop specializing in cheese, wine and liquor, while in high school.

She later became a bartender at what is today Gopher One, then began working at Across the Street, a small tavern on East Main Street.

After a few years, she bought the business and renamed it Willie’s Wish. It was known for its Mug Club, with patrons’ personalized mugs hanging from the low-ceiling, and for the pool table wedged into a side room that required people to use a two-foot cue stick.

About 1996, she moved across the street to what was then Bley’s Recreation. She was offered the manager’s position with the condition she also move her bar there, her sister said, noting she renamed the business Willie’s Wish and Lakefront Lanes.

Running a bowling alley was a natural for Ms. Wilber, who was a talented bowler.

“She always bowled,” her sister said. “I can’t even tell you when she started.”

She was elected into the Ozaukee County Bowling Hall of Fame in 2014.

As a business owner, Ms. Wilber supported and participated in a number of county bowling and pool leagues.

She and two friends, Kris Edwards and Noreen Klever, comprised a pool team that played together for 35 years, her sister said.

Ms. Wilber, who was a longtime member of the Wisconsin Tavern League, also played softball, darts and cornhole, her sister said.

“She was good at everything,” she said, adding Ms. Wilber loved the social aspects of the sports as much as the competition.

A dog lover, Ms. Wilber’s constant companion was her dog, who often accompanied her to work. Her most recent pet was a Lhasa Apso named Shotzie.

Ms. Wilber was a fun-loving woman who was non-judgmental, her sister said.

“She had the biggest heart you’d ever see,” her sister said. “She would treat everyone alike.”

Ms. Wilber is survived by her sister Gynene Wilber of Antigo, her nieces Chloe (Austin) Hitz and Gracie Yankunas and nephews Tyler Hipple and Collin Hanley.

She was preceded in death by her parents and sister Gwenn Yankunas.

A celebration of Ms. Wilber’s life will be held at Willie’s Lakefront Lanes beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested.

Funeral arrangements are being handled through Poole Funeral Home and Crematory, Port Washington.