Harold William Finke died on May 27, 2025, peacefully in the presence of family at Marshfield Medical Center in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

A gathering for family and friends will be held from 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at Sauter/Rembs Funeral Home, Stratford.

He was born on September 7, 1948, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Elmer and Leona (Liebau) Finke, and he grew up on a farm in Rogers. He graduated from Buffalo High School in 1966 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He married Marcia Jordan, the daughter of a farmer on his dad's milk route, on October 11, 1968, in Jacksonville, Florida. He was trained as an aviation electrician and stationed in Atsugi, Japan. His family lived in off base, traditional Japanese housing, an experience he later shared with many of his children's school classes.

After his military discharge, he returned with his family to Buffalo, where he became a skilled welder and metal worker. He brought that expertise and his electrical training to dairy farming in 1978 when the family relocated to Frankfort Township, Wisconsin. He often planned his projects writing notes in an ever-present matchbook pulled from his pocket T or working trigonometry by hand on paper towels on the milk cart.

He farmed for over 35 years, sharing his time and talents as a 4-H leader and a guest instructor in ag classes at Edgar High School along the way. He will be remembered for his (often inappropriate) sense of humor, whether a quick joke or settling in for a story leaning on a neighbor's tailgate.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Marcy, of Edgar; his children Bret (Victoria) of Stratford; Brian (Jessica) of Athens; Bridget of River Falls; and Brandon (Daena) of Urbandale, Iowa; grandchildren Dan, Kyle, Connor, Ellis and Macy; and step-grandchild Hunter. and siblings Ruth Lucht of Maple Grove, Minnesota and John (Sandy) Finke of Chokio, Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Gerald.

The family extends special thanks to the Edgar EMT service and the Marshfield Medical Center Palliative Care Unit for their assistance and kindness.