John Baltes

John Fredric Baltes, age 87 of Kenosha passed away Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Home in Dover.  John was born February 7, 1933 to Norbert and Bertha (nee Ziebarth) Baltes in Madison, WI. He attended Madison grade schools and graduated from Madison East High School.  John married Madonna Cammack in 1957 at St Mark’s Lutheran Church.  John proudly served our country with distinction in both Korea and Vietnam (along with many other duty stations) during his more than 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, retiring as a Captain.  After retiring he started his own company, O.Z. Enterprises.

John was a member of Moose International, the Parris Island Historical Society and the Korean War Veterans Association.  Additionally, he was a member of Sugar Creek Lutheran Church where he spent many gratifying hours cataloging the headstones in the church cemetery. John enjoyed reading, Scrabble, cribbage and cards, with blackjack and pinochle being his favorite games. He was an avid Packer fan and liked watching the games on the big screen at the Kenosha Moose Club.  Some of the things he enjoyed doing most recently were acting (he was in the film “Red Betsy”) and modeling (print advertisements and billboards). He also spent 10 years compiling all the writings of China Marine John Thomason into bound books.  John was your typical “Tough Old Marine” but would do anything for his children and grandchildren.

John is survived by his children: Laura (Cecil) Barcalow, Eric (Leslie) Baltes, and Scott Baltes, grandchildren Travis and Amber Barcalow.  He is further survived by his brother David (Marge) Baltes, sister-in-law Dorothy Baltes, nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister Karlyn (Robert) Marks and two nephews Mark and Stephen Baltes.

Private family services are pending.  They will be held at Cress Funeral and Cremation Services, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison, WI.  Interment will take place at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Parris Island Historical Society (www.historyofmarines.org), Red Cross Disaster Relief (redcross.org/donate) or Red Cloud Indian School/St Joseph Indian School (both in South Dakota).