Norman J. Kalies

Norman J. Kalies Norman J Kalies was born to eternal life on March 28th 2022, at the age of 87 years old. Family and friends will be gathering to celebrate Norman’s life on Monday, April 4th 2022, at St Joseph Parish, at 6pm, in Grafton. A visitation will take place prior to the service from 3pm-5:45pm. Burial will take place Wednesday, April 6th 2022, at 2pm, at St. Joseph Cemetery in Grafton. Norman was born July 21, 1934, in Port Washington, WI as the only child of Emil Kalies and Catherine (nee Laures). He was also blessed to have his step-mother, Alma, as an influential presence in his life. Norman graduated from Waupaca High School in 1952, and proudly joined the United States Army. It was during his deployment to Germany that Norman met the love of his life, Patricia (nee Lauer) of Grafton, as a pen pal. Norman and Patricia celebrated their love through the sacrament of matrimony in 1960. Their marriage was profoundly blessed with five sons. Norman worked closely alongside the Lauer family at their local business, Lauer Hardware, in Grafton. The business has continued to grow and thrive throughout four generations and is still family owned today. As his children grew, Norman enjoyed spending time coaching the different youth sports they were involved in. Most notably this included basketball at St. Joseph for over sixteen years. Norman further enjoyed being an active member of the Knights of Columbus as well as the Kiwanis. Through volunteering, hard work and commitment, Norman was proud to rise to the level of a 3rd and 4th-degree knight, as well as serving as the Grand Knight. In 1997, Norman and Patricia retired to their home in Minocqua, WI. Here, Norman continued to be active with the Knights as the local district deputy. He also served as president of the board for the Lakeland Senior Center, where he was very dedicated and involved as a volunteer. A few of Norman’s pastimes and hobbies included fishing, playing sheepshead, card games and bowling. He further enjoyed many volunteer activities, one of which was delivering Meals on Wheels to local individuals in need. Norman also amassed a sizable collection of stamps and coins. He enjoyed sharing all of these activities with his many loved ones. Norman is survived by his loving wife and lifelong best friend, Patricia (nee Lauer) Kalies. He was the proud father of Jim (Pat), Paul (Sue), Pete (Sharyn), Joe and the late Christopher Kalies. He was the dear brother-in-law of Janet (Bill) Koeppen and Robert (Janet) Lauer. He is further survived by eight grandchildren, Mike (Patrice), John (Emily), Mary (Mark) Trapp, Andrew, David (Leanne), Michaelah, Greg, and Christopher Kalies, as well as one great-grandchild, Christian Kalies. He was also blessed to have many extended family members and friends. In addition to being a hardworking, dedicated husband, father, volunteer and businessman, Norman will be remembered for his strong faith, which was well balanced by a dry sense of humor and clever wit. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Lakeland Senior Center and the Christopher Kalies Scholarship Fund at Grafton High School are appreciated.