Obituary of Jere Lee Friday

Jere Lee Friday, age 78, of Vesper, passed away early Tuesday morning, May 1, 2018.

Services will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vesper. Rev. Douglas Schalow will officiate. Burial, with full military honors, will take place at St. James Catholic Cemetery in Vesper. Visitation, for family and friends, will take place on Friday, May 4, 2018, from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. at Herman-Taylor Funeral Home in Wisconsin Rapids and again on Saturday, May 5, 2018, from 9:00 A.M until the time of the service at the church. Online condolences may be expressed at www.taylorfuneralhome.net.

Jere was born January 5, 1940, in Wisconsin Rapids, to Ervin and Coryl (Russ) Friday. He married Arlene Jagodzinski on November 12, 1966. He grew up in the Vesper area with his siblings: Arlyn “Red”, Daryl “Nook”, and Nancy. Jere was a graduate of Lincoln High School as a member of the Class of 1957.  In February 1964, he joined the U.S. Army. He served active duty for 2 years at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Jere continued to serve in the Reserves until he was honorably discharged in January of 1968.  He earned a Good Conduct Medal. Jere worked for United Parcel Service for 34 years, until his retirement in 1998.

He enjoyed: bowling, softball, fishing, hunting, golfing, woodworking, vacationing in Las Vegas, and walking around his 40 with a Pabst in his hand, along with his best friend, Nook (also with a Pabst). Jere enjoyed following the Badgers, Brewers, and Packers (pre-Ted Thompson). He found out his favorite retirement activity was spending time with his grandchildren.

Jere had many buddies including: Dale Hahn, Marvin Kohls, and Joe Shook, along with all of the guys at UPS. He also liked to spend time with his friends from Nick’s Bar.

Jere is survived by his wife of 51 years, Arlene; sons: Rodd (Jenni) Friday and Scott (Jodi) Friday; 6 grandchildren: Ben (Molly) Woloszyn, Alicia (Jason) Bird, Austin Friday, Megan Friday, Molly Friday, and Emily Friday; 4 great-grandchildren: Annie, Zach, Samantha, and Addison; sisters-in-law: Janice Friday, Valarie Friday, Yvonne Friday, Dolores (Ed) Wipfli, Bernice Jagodzinski, Sadie Jagodzinski, and Barbara Jagodzinski; brother-in-law, Raymond Jagodzinski; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; stepfather, Elmer Knuth; brothers: Arlyn “Red” Friday and Daryl “Nook” Friday; sister, Nancy Jepsen; brothers-in-law: Larry Jepsen, Donald Jagodzinski, Carl Jagodzinski, Frank Jagodzinski, and Dale Zieher; and sister-in-law, Pat Zieher.

Jere’s family would like to extend a special “Thank You” to Karla, Amanda, and the entire staff at Arborview Court in Wisconsin Rapids.  They would also like to send another special “Thank You” to the staffs of Ministry Healthcare and Heartland Hospice, for the extraordinary care, kindness, and compassion shown to Jere and his family.