Richard L. Speth

Mr. Richard Speth of Port Washington passed away at his residence Wednesday morning, Oct. 14, 2020, while surrounded by his loving family. He was 81 years old.

Richard was born in Milwaukee on Aug. 22, 1939, the son of Roy H. and Anna Zweifel Speth.  

He attended local schools, including Boy’s Technical High School, before enlisting in the U.S. Army. Richard served with the 82nd Airborne Division before being honorably discharged in 1959.

On June 3, 1961, Richard was united in marriage with Joanne Doberneck at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Milwaukee.  The couple settled in Milwaukee and started their family, later moving to Port Washington in 1968 after Richard began his career with the Ozaukee Sheriff’s Department.

Richard attained the rank of sergeant in the department and had a long and distinguished career that included a silver star awarded for bravery, heroism awards and numerous Officer of the Year awards.  

Sgt. Speth was the first officially trained and certified firearms instructor for the Ozaukee Sheriff’s Department and served in that capacity for over 20 years. He was also active in the SWAT team, D.A.R.E. program and the competitive OSD Pistol Team, where he brought home many trophies to attest to his marksmanship skills.

He also served as a leader for the Boy Scouts and Explorer programs. He retired in 1996 after 28 years on the department.

Richard was a wonderful cook and took great joy in cooking for his family. He loved the preparation that went into his meals, including all of the grocery shopping, and loved to talk to the shop owners and clerks.

He enjoyed going up north to the family cabin on Post Lake in Elcho, Wis., to fish with his kids and take his grandchildren on boat rides. His family was of huge importance to him and he relished giving his time and talents to make them happy.

Survivors include his wife Joanne and their six children, Jeffrey (Sandy) Speth of Elcho, Steven (special friend Lisa Haasch) of Saukville, Kathryn (Carl) Schowalter of Port Washington, Gary (Amy Jo) Speth of West Bend, Vicky (Josh) Klebba of Cedarburg and Jennifer (Nicholas) Holzer of Grafton. He was preceded in death by his son Andrew Speth.  

He is further survived by 12 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; brothers Roy (Rita) Speth of Elcho, Harold (special friend Carolyn Mushall) Speth of Milwaukee and Henry (Chris) Speth of Glendale; sisters-in-law Diane Speth of Franklin and Marilyn Anderson and Rita Doberneck, both of Greendale;  nieces; nephews; other family members and many friends.  

He was preceded in death by sisters Dorothea (the late Richard) Drewek and Arlene Miske; brothers Paul, Edward and William Speth; sister-in-law Judy Speth; and brother-in-law Carl Anderson, along with extended family members.

A Mass of Christian burial took place at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at St. John XXIII Catholic Parish, St. Mary Church, 430 N. Johnson St., Port Washington. Father Dennis Van Beek presided.  

Burial followed with military honors at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Port Washington.

The family received visitors at Eernisse Funeral Home on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. before processing to the church for Mass at 1:30 p.m. There was a law enforcement walk-through at 12:45 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital (https://www.stjude.org), the Wounded Warriors Project (https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/Donate) or the Disabled American Veterans (https://secure.dav.org/donate).

Eernisse Funeral Home assisted the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.eernissefuneralhome.com.