Paul H. Anacker

Paul H. Anacker, age 65, passed away on Sunday, April 23, 2023, at UW Hospital in Madison, following complications with his double lung transplant.  He was born on June 18, 1957, in Portage, Wisconsin, the son of James and Charlotte (Sonnenberg) Anacker. 

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at Herman-Taylor Funeral Home with Reverend Matthew Lorfeld presiding. Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 4:00 p.m. until the time of the services at the funeral Home.

Paul married Star Umlauft on July 12, 1980. He always treated her as his princess, always bringing her flowers for any occasion or just because. He was the best cook ever from making his mother’s signature chop suey or tuna noodle casserole to eggs or his double crust apple pie he would make from scratch.

Paul and Star enjoyed traveling, some of his favorite trips include going to parks to see Waterfalls, to Las Vegas and their trips to Puerto Vallarta.

Some of Paul’s favorite hobbies include camping at Spirit Lake, UTVing, fishing, deer hunting, especially turkey hunting with his best friend Tom Reitz. His biggest dreams were to go bear and moose hunting.   He also enjoyed painting rocks even though he knew he wasn’t an artist. Most of all he loved spending time with his family and many friends, he had the gift of gab and would talk to anyone, he liked to make people happy. He was a person that was always willing to help someone in need.

Paul worked for Wood County as a trapping instructor, he also worked with the village of Port Edwards from 1976 until 1981, he owned his own business Paul’s 4 Seasons from 1982 to 1994 and then worked for Haessly and Haessly Inc. from 1994 until 2008, when he became ill and later required a transplant in January of 2013. Paul’s double lung transplant gave him an extra 10 years to torment us. He never found out who his donor was, but we are all grateful for them giving us the extra 10 years with Paul.

Paul is survived by his wife of 42 years Star; his sister Peg (Russ) Brody; his nieces and nephews: Mikey (Will Scantling) Vechinski, Amber Vechinski, Jamie (fiancé Ian) Knetter, Bill (Renae) Anacker, and Brian (Jessie) Anacker. He is further survived by his best friend Tom Reitz and many other relatives and friends.  He was preceded in death by his parents and by his brother Larry Anacker.

The family would like to express a heartfelt thank you to the care team at University of Wisconsin Hospital-Madison Transplant Clinic and all the friends and family who have helped Paul over the years.

As a lasting memorial to Paul, please be an organ donor, you never know whose life you may help save.

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