Inspiration Wall

With pride we present this Inspiration Wall dedicated to the men and women who called Berlin home and whose achievements have benefited their profession, sport, business or the citizens of this earth.

It is hoped that these brief biographical sketches will provide incentive to the students of Berlin, to learn more, to aim for like values, to believe in their own potential, and to reach for the stars. Challenges in the future are many. The accomplishments of these and future honorees are presented as motivation and inspiration for everyone to believe in themselves and go the extra mile.

The project, “Be Proud, Be Inspired” is a joint effort with the Berlin Area Historical Society and the Berlin Area School System.

 

Richard Claire Beaman

Dick, as he was known, grew up on a dairy farm near Berlin. After graduation from Berlin High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy becoming a radar technician, based on his high aptitude in math and science, thanks to his well-rounded education at Berlin High School....

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James Gurkowski

Jim Gurkowski, a life-long resident of Berlin and a 1968 graduate of Berlin High School, has devoted many hours to the Berlin sportsmen’s community. Trapshooting – and giving back to the sport through volunteer work – has been a true passion for Jim. It began at the...

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Robert L. Seward M.D.

A member of the 1957 Berlin High School class, Robert L. Seward, M.D. graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1966 and has been a certified American Board Internal medicine member since 1978. He is the son of Dr. Lynn and Gladys Seward, and has a...

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Dr. Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson graduated from Berlin High School in 1978. He considered becoming a carpenter after high school, but was persuaded by his family physician to become a medical doctor. Johnson, however, didn’t think he was smart enough. With encouragement from both...

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Robert (Bob) Malchetske

Bob Malchetske, a lifelong resident of Berlin, has devoted many hours to better and make a difference in the Berlin community. For this dedication, he is a 2019 Honoree for the ‘Be Proud, Be Inspired’ Inspiration Wall. Malchetske’s participation in the Berlin...

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Luther S. Olsen

Luther S. Olsen was born in Berlin in 1951. He graduated from Berlin High School in 1969 and earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1973. He completed the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program Group IV in1990-1992. Senator Olsen was...

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Lucy Smith Morris

Lucy Smith was born in 1850 in Markesan, WI. She was educated at the Musical Academy in Beaver Dam and the Notre Dame Convent, (now Mount Mary College) in Milwaukee. After teaching school for several years, Lucy married Charles Secor Morris, a young entrepreneur of...

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M. Jean Walker Bruce, M.D.

Nominated 2018. Jeanie Walker graduated from Berlin High School in 1960 as valedictorian. She received her BS degree in education from UW-Oshkosh and married Robert Bruce in 1963. She taught in elementary schools in Oshkosh, then in Bozeman, Montana while Robert was...

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Eugene (Gene) Trochinski

Nominated 2018. A 1970 graduate of Berlin High School, Gene Trochinski went on to a 40-year career as teacher, coach and administrator, 36 of them in Orange County, Florida. During his tenure at Dr. Phillips High School he built an athletic program that earned 86...

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Benedict (Dick) Brooks

Nominated 2018. The Brooks family moved to Berlin in 1948 when Dick was 19 years old. Dick, his dad, Gary, and brothers, Raymond and Glenn were hard-working entrepreneurs who owned and operated various businesses in Berlin: Wisconsin Tanktainer, Carri Craft...

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Phillip J. Sass

Nominated 2017. A native of Milwaukee Wisconsin, Phillip Sass left his job as a food chemist and moved to Berlin in 1973 when he and a partner launched Wisconsin Spice, Inc. in an abandoned 19th century building located on Capron St. In the 35 years since its...

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Stephanie Ceman

Nominated 2017. Stephanie Ceman graduated from Berlin High School in 1983. At that time she headed for UW-Madison, planning to go to medical school. While there she majored in bacteriology and graduated with distinction in 1987. Part of her preparation for medical...

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William Michael McMonigal

Nominated 2017. W.M. “Mike” McMonigal graduated from Berlin High School in 1964. He attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1968, going on to get a Juris Doctorate from Marquette’s Law School in 1971....

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Theodore (Tim) H. Fortnum

Nominated 2016. Lumberjack, Farmer, Machinist, Foundryman, Engineer, Inventor, Auto dealer. A man with many interesting stories to tell is Theodore H. Fortnum, more commonly known by his friends as “Tim” so stated an article in a February 1961 issue of the Berlin...

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Mark G. Doll

Nominated 2016. Mark G. Doll graduated from Berlin High School in 1967. He earned a B.A. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1971 and a M.B.A. degree in 1975. The son of a former Berlin High School principal, Mark was born in Berlin the oldest of...

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Beverly Ann Biegick Keelor

Nominated 2016. Beverly Ann graduated from Berlin High School in 1948. She attended Oshkosh State Teacher's College and graduated from Palm Beach Junior College in West Palm Beach, Florida. What started out as a little girl's dream of dancing became a life-long...

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Robert Wright

Nominated in 2015.Robert Wright was a member of one of the early families of Berlin, the first one arriving here in 1853. Through all the generations the Wrights held a keen interest in community and worked for its betterment. Robert, of the fourth generation, was no...

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Benjamin Harold Seaman

Nominated in 2015. After graduation from Berlin High School in 1936, Ben Seaman was working in a factory in Milwaukee when the 2nd World War began. Because that industry was essential to the war effort his entry into the U.S. Navy was delayed. It was while he was on...

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Rolf A. Peterson, PhD

Nominated 2014 Rolf Peterson graduated from Berlin High School in 1957. Not having an interest in college, he joined the Navy. While serving his country he began to realize he had the intelligence to go to college. After the Navy he enrolled at Oshkosh State College...

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David Charles Good, M.D.

Nominated 2014 David C. Good graduated from Berlin High School in 1966. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from UW-Madison and later his M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) from that school. He spent his residency at the University of Minnesota Hospital, Minneapolis, in...

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George L. Hess Jr.

Nominated 2014 George L. Hess Jr. graduated from Berlin High School in 1955 and served four years in the United States Air Force, later receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree from UW-Oshkosh. From 1960 to 1962 he worked in the electronics field in Buffalo N. Y. and...

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Russell R. Chier

Nominated 2014 Russ Chier learned the meaning of hard work and responsibility by working in the family business, C. A. Chier Sand Co. owned by his father, Clifford Chier. After graduating from Berlin High School in 1955 he went into the business full time learning all...

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Alfred J. Treder

Nominated 2013 Alfred James Treder, and family moved to Berlin when he was 5 years old. He has worked various aspects of space and missile Guidance & Control systems for over 50 years, from conceptual design through development and flight. Since the early 1990s he...

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Judith L. LaBuda

Nominated 2013 Judy LaBuda graduated from Berlin high School in 1975. She went on to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Education from University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she graduated with Distinction and a Masters Degree in Behavioral Disabilities –...

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Thomas Lee Klein

Nominated 2013 Tom Klein was a 1953 Berlin High School graduate. As a sophomore, he was injured in a high school football game that left him a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. Prior to the accident he was an outstanding athlete in grad school and high school,...

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Julie Good-Kruger

Nominated 2013 After graduating from Berlin High School in 1973, Julie continued her education earning a Bachelor of Arts in Classics (the study of antiquity) at St. Olaf College and went on to earn her Masters Degree in Divinity in 2012. She has been an entrepreneur...

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David Doan

Nominated 2013 This 1982 graduate of Berlin High School went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from UW-Platteville. It is his sideline/hobby that has earned him the title of “World Champion” and gained him a strong reputation in powerlifting....

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Connie Curran

Nominated 2013 Connie graduated from Berlin High School in 1965 and went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UW Madison. She continued her education receiving a MSN at DePaul University, EdD from Northwestern Illinois Univ., Physical Assessment...

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Donald Lamont Brown

Nominated 2013 Born in Berlin, Wisconsin in 1890, the son of a Scottish stone cutter, Donald L. Brown was an early innovator of aviation, having been involved with the development and building of aircraft engines in aviation’s early years. Although he was a hard...

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