David H. Dhein

David H. Dhein of Birchwood, Wisconsin passed away on December 13, 2023 at the age of 82 surrounded by family.

Beloved husband of Sharon for 62 years. Loving father of Joel (Jackie) Dhein and Jill (Troy Stafford) Minette. Proud grandfather of Carly and Holly Dhein and Tanner and Madison Minette.

David was born on September 1, 1941 in Marshfield, Wisconsin to the late Melvin and Irene (Wetterau) Dhein. He was raised in Stratford, Wisconsin and attended Stratford High School where he was both a star basketball and baseball player, but most importantly, where he met his wife Sharon. He graduated in 1959 and went on to pursue a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. After he graduated, Dave and Sharon got married in 1962 and moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he started his 36 year career as a Probation & Parole Agent. In 1990, he continued his career in Rice Lake, Wisconsin as a supervisor until his retirement in 1999.

After only a few years of retirement, he wanted to be more active and in 2002 became a jury bailiff for Barron County Circuit Court. He was a bailiff for 19 years and served on 421 jury trials. He was commended by Barron County judges for his dedication, great storytelling and his ability to keep the jurors on task. He received rave reviews from jurors in Barron County for his kindness and professionalism.

In 2003, between jury bailiff duties, he took his skill set to the Birchwood School District as a substitute teacher where he taught grades K-12 for over 17 years. He really enjoyed teaching the students and it was definitely more than a job for Dave. He was both the students’ and the faculties’ favorite substitute teacher and was known as a “legend” for all of his great stories. Dave and his wife Sharon seldom missed a Birchwood High School basketball game.

In his spare time, Dave enjoyed spending time fishing with his wife Sharon on Red Cedar Lake where they lived for 32 years. The lake brought great joy to Dave and he especially enjoyed having the grandchildren there showing them how to fish, taking boat rides and driving around in the golf cart. When Dave wasn’t on the lake, he could be found at the Tagalong Golf Course or at home watching the Brewers.

While living in Eau Claire, Dave was the President of the Eau Claire Cavaliers amateur baseball from 1978 until 1983. During those years they were a national powerhouse and set attendance records along with teams going to the Amateur Baseball World Series. His ability behind the scenes to lead the teams recruiting effort and marketing plan landed amateur and collegiate talent from all over the Midwest to play in Eau Claire. During his tenure, the 1983 team was inducted into the Eau Claire Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

There will be a celebration of life service at Trinity Lutheran Church in Birchwood, Wisconsin at 11:00 am on May 31, 2024. That same night “The Dave Dhein Athletic Excellence Scholarship” will be presented to the selected recipients at the Birchwood School District Graduation scheduled for 7:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be given to the student scholarship and made payable to the Birchwood School District.

Please mail checks to:

Birchwood School District, Attn: Casey Rurup, 300 S Wilson St Birchwood, WI 54817

Or

Venmo: @JDDhein

The family would like to thank both the staff at Harvest Home in Grafton, Wisconsin for all the extra-special care and everything they did for Dave during his time living there and to ProMedica Hospice for their compassionate care and support for Dave and our family for the past several months.