Allen Stewart "Stewdie" Barnes, 82, Wautoma, a longtime teacher at Tri-County Schools and a former athletic director, died Monday, Feb. 8, 2010. He had just begun residency in the Heartland House Retirement Community in Wautoma following a brief illness.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wautoma. Inurnment with full military honors will take place at a later date.
Visitation will be at Leikness Funeral Home in Wautoma from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday and at the church from 10 a.m. Monday until the Mass.
Condolences may be offered online at www.wautomafuneralhome.com.
Mr. Barnes was born May 19, 1927, in Fort Atkinson, a son of the late Nathan and Helen (Lentz) Barnes. He attended Jefferson Public Schools and graduated from Jefferson High in 1944.
After high school he served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Colbert in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
He then attended Platteville State Teachers College (now the University of Wisconsin-Platteville) for a bachelor of science degree and obtained a master of science degree from Colorado State-Greeley in 1960.
He resided in Plainfield after taking his first teaching position with Tri-County Schools in Plainfield.
He was married to Frances M. (Kraus) Shemanski, a widow with seven children, on June 2, 1965. She died on Dec. 1, 2008.
They settled in Wautoma and he continued to teach at Tri-County Schools, also coaching basketball and baseball. He became the school's athletic director, a position he held until his retirement.
He spent many summers working in seasonal agriculture in the Central Sands as a fieldman, primarily for Green Giant.
He also was a scout for Major League Baseball, first with the Kansas City Royals, then the Los Angeles Dodgers and finally with the Milwaukee Brewers.
He was a member of many clubs and organizations throughout his life, including the Plainfield Lions Club, and the Jefferson Coon and Fox Hunting Club (which his father Nathan was one of the original founders), the Wisconsin Retired Educators' Association, and many Wisconsin athletic associations and coaching organizations.
He was a member of St. Joseph Church in Wautoma.
Survivors include six stepchildren, John (Joany) Shemanski, Sally (James) Baldry, Mary (Tom) Olkiewicz, Ralph Shemanski, Stan (Susan) Shemanski and Mark Shemanski; eight grandchildren; and 10 great stepgrandchildren.
He was also preceded in death by one stepson, Stephen; one sister Janie Nevins; one brother, Robert; and one stepgrandson.