Charles E. ‘Chuck’ Walkner

Chuck was born on July 9, 1942, in Mattoon, Wis., son of William and Mary (Oestreich) Walkner. He was raised in Mattoon, Wis., and graduated from Mattoon High School. The family later moved to Two Rivers, Wis., where he was employed for a time at Hamilton Manufacturing before going on to Oshkosh Technical College. Later, he earned a degree in forestry from Michigan Tech University.

On Aug. 28, 1966, Chuck enlisted in the Army National Guard, serving until his honorable discharge in 1971.

Chuck married Iona Kearns on April 8, 1967, at St. Joseph Church. Together they celebrated 52 years of marriage and raised their two children.

He worked for Sawyer Stoll, then Mead Paper, as a forester until his retirement in 2000.

Chuck enjoyed being outdoors for both work and recreation. His work contributed not only to the forest products industry, but also furthered sustainable forestry in ways that will be seen for generations. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Among survivors are his wife, Iona of Cornell; children, Chuck (Janet) Walkner of Gladstone and Diane (Tom) Jones of St. Peters, Mo.; step-grandchildren, Michelle and Miguel; and siblings, William, Robert, Dorothy, Mary and Kathleen.

He was preceded in death by his parents, as well as his brother John and sister Lucille.

Visitation will be held on Monday, June 10, at Crawford Funeral Home 302 S. 13th St., Escanaba from 4 to 7 p.m. Parish prayers will be said at 7 p.m. by Rev. Francis Dobrzenski. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, June 11, at Holy Family Church in Flat Rock at 11 a.m. with Rev. Francis Dobrzenski officiating. Burial will take place in Bark River Cemetery immediately following the Mass.

A message of condolence may be directed to the Walkner family by visiting crawfordfuneralhomes.net.