Obituary for William Douglas Brink
William D. “Bill” Brink, 89, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, died on Monday, April 1, 2019, at his Evergreen assisted living home. Bill was born on June 28, 1929, in Oshkosh, the second of three children of William J. and Niona (Christensen) Brink. He called Oshkosh home except for a few years.
Bill earned a B.S. degree in secondary education from what is now known as the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, later completing a M.A. degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The bulk of his 30-year career in education was spent at Kimberly Middle School, where he taught Latin, English, and History. Of these subjects, Bill most enjoyed teaching Latin, largely because of the continuity of students from year to year. Daily commutes to Kimberly offered the opportunity to cement long-lasting friendships with fellow teachers.
Bill was intrigued by history and politics his entire life, sparked by a history teacher in high school. Another avocation was finance, and he closely watched his investments on the stock market. He enjoyed traveling in the U.S. and Canada, especially to historical sites and national parks. Bill served as a loving caregiver for his mother and father, enabling them to live at home in their later years as long as possible. He was a special uncle to the children of his brother Don and sister Judy, encouraging their education and fostering coin and stamp collections. One of them usually benefitted from his penchant to upgrade his car and TV every few years!
Bill was a lifelong member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Oshkosh. As a boy, he sang in an acapella choir at school and the boys’ choir at church. Like his mother and brother, Bill developed macular degeneration, and he navigated the vision loss quite well, thanks to assistive technology, use of senior transportation services to YMCA workouts, supportive friends, and stepped living arrangements at Evergreen.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, brother Donald J. Brink, sister Judith A. Day, and niece Jane E. Kuhnwald. He is survived by sister-in-law Loraine Brink; brother-in-law Phil Day; nieces and nephews Steve (Patty) Brink, Carla (Paul Ranelli) Brink, Bobbie (Dan) Guerra, Linda (Ray) Armas, Stuart (Ronda) Brink, Don (Sharon) Brink, Jeff (Heidi) Noonan-Day, and Scott (Erika) Day; and many loving great nieces and nephews. Bill was thankful for his friend Jim Patzlaff and niece Linda Armas and her husband Ray, whom he entrusted with his care decisions the past few years. The family extends a special “thank you” to the staffs of Evergreen and Aurora at Home for their kind and compassionate care of Bill.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the Oshkosh Community YMCA, 324 Washington Ave, Oshkosh, WI 54901 or the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, PO Box 515, Northampton, MA 01061-0515 https://www.macular.org/how-donate. Cards and memories sent to Carla will be shared with the family (Carla Brink, 2820 Greysolon Rd, Duluth MN 55812 cjbrink@charter.net).
On Saturday, May 18, 2019, a Mass with committal beginning at 3 p.m. will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church (311 Division St, Oshkosh) with The Reverend Chris Arnold officiating. A time of visitation will precede the service from 2-3 p.m.
Bill earned a B.S. degree in secondary education from what is now known as the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, later completing a M.A. degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The bulk of his 30-year career in education was spent at Kimberly Middle School, where he taught Latin, English, and History. Of these subjects, Bill most enjoyed teaching Latin, largely because of the continuity of students from year to year. Daily commutes to Kimberly offered the opportunity to cement long-lasting friendships with fellow teachers.
Bill was intrigued by history and politics his entire life, sparked by a history teacher in high school. Another avocation was finance, and he closely watched his investments on the stock market. He enjoyed traveling in the U.S. and Canada, especially to historical sites and national parks. Bill served as a loving caregiver for his mother and father, enabling them to live at home in their later years as long as possible. He was a special uncle to the children of his brother Don and sister Judy, encouraging their education and fostering coin and stamp collections. One of them usually benefitted from his penchant to upgrade his car and TV every few years!
Bill was a lifelong member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Oshkosh. As a boy, he sang in an acapella choir at school and the boys’ choir at church. Like his mother and brother, Bill developed macular degeneration, and he navigated the vision loss quite well, thanks to assistive technology, use of senior transportation services to YMCA workouts, supportive friends, and stepped living arrangements at Evergreen.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, brother Donald J. Brink, sister Judith A. Day, and niece Jane E. Kuhnwald. He is survived by sister-in-law Loraine Brink; brother-in-law Phil Day; nieces and nephews Steve (Patty) Brink, Carla (Paul Ranelli) Brink, Bobbie (Dan) Guerra, Linda (Ray) Armas, Stuart (Ronda) Brink, Don (Sharon) Brink, Jeff (Heidi) Noonan-Day, and Scott (Erika) Day; and many loving great nieces and nephews. Bill was thankful for his friend Jim Patzlaff and niece Linda Armas and her husband Ray, whom he entrusted with his care decisions the past few years. The family extends a special “thank you” to the staffs of Evergreen and Aurora at Home for their kind and compassionate care of Bill.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the Oshkosh Community YMCA, 324 Washington Ave, Oshkosh, WI 54901 or the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, PO Box 515, Northampton, MA 01061-0515 https://www.macular.org/how-donate. Cards and memories sent to Carla will be shared with the family (Carla Brink, 2820 Greysolon Rd, Duluth MN 55812 cjbrink@charter.net).
On Saturday, May 18, 2019, a Mass with committal beginning at 3 p.m. will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church (311 Division St, Oshkosh) with The Reverend Chris Arnold officiating. A time of visitation will precede the service from 2-3 p.m.