Chet Polka, age 78, of Berlin, WI, passed away Saturday morning, July 8, 2006 surrounded by his family. He had resided at Juliette Manor since August of 2004.
Mr. Polka was born on September 27, 1927 near Mosinee, WI, the son of Walter and Caroline Polka. He married Carol Collins on August 9, 1952 in Stevens Point. After graduating from high school, he honored his country while serving in the Army for two years. He received his bachelor's degree in Education from UW-Stevens Point and his Master's degree in Curriculum from UW-Madison. While at Stevens Point from 1948-1952, Chet participated in basketball, track, tennis, and cross country. His performance during the 1951-52 basketball season earned him a spot on the All-Conference Team as a guard. Chet was selected an Honorary Captain and received the team's Most Valuable Player award. He holds a career high scoring of 926 points and led the Pointers in scoring during the 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons. Chet was inducted into the UW-Stevens Point basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Chet devoted 41 years of his life to education at Berlin High School. He taught Social Studies, coached varsity basketball, baseball, cross country, and golf. He also served as Athletic Director and Audio-Visual Director, and was a WIAA basketball official for 15 years.
He was a member of All Saints Catholic Church and the third and fourth degree Knights of Columbus. He was also active in several Retired Teachers organizations and the Berlin and Wisconsin State Historical Societies. Historical events and community activities were of special interest to Chet. He was often seen video taping events for historical preservation. He was a volunteer at Berlin Memorial Hospital for a number of years, and received the Community Health Network Human Service Award in 2000. Chet was an avid golfer and won the Knights of Columbus State Golf Tournament in 1976.
Survivors include his wife, Carol; son, Dave (Candy) of Grafton, WI and their daughter, Korey (fiancee Erik); daughter Anne (Mark) Swanson of Manitowoc, WI and their children Melissa, Josh, and Matthew; daughter Sara (Todd) Nault of Green Bay, WI and their sons Richard and Jeff. He is further survived by four sisters, one brother, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and eight siblings.
Funeral services with the Mass of Christian Burial were held on Saturday July 15, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. from Saint Michael's Catholic Church of Berlin with the Rev. Jerome Maksvytis officiating and burial followed in the Saint Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery of Berlin. A luncheon and fellowship with the family were held following the services at the Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in Chet's name.
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Mr. Polka was one of my teachers in Berlin High School, where he taught "World History, and one of my favorite classes, "Local History". This class consisted of learning in depth the History of Berlin Wisconsin, that he once told us "Was the greatest little city in Wisconsin". That class consisted of Juniors and Seniors. One of the most memorable things we did in that class was restore a Cemetery in the extinct town of "Sacramento, Wisconsin", which had all been but forgotten, except for kids who had party's there, messed the place up, turned over headstones, etc. Our job...to clean in up and make it respectable. Today it is now taken very good care of, which makes me very happy, as I'm sure it did to Chet. Not many teacher's in school ever had the positive impact on me like Mr. Polka did. He is one teacher that was missed at BHS, and one that I'll remember forever.
Chet Polka, age 78, of Berlin, WI, passed away Saturday morning, July 8, 2006 surrounded by his family. He had resided at Juliette Manor since August of 2004.
Mr. Polka was born on September 27, 1927 near Mosinee, WI, the son of Walter and Caroline Polka. He married Carol Collins on August 9, 1952 in Stevens Point. After graduating from high school, he honored his country while serving in the Army for two years. He received his bachelor's degree in Education from UW-Stevens Point and his Master's degree in Curriculum from UW-Madison. While at Stevens Point from 1948-1952, Chet participated in basketball, track, tennis, and cross country. His performance during the 1951-52 basketball season earned him a spot on the All-Conference Team as a guard. Chet was selected an Honorary Captain and received the team's Most Valuable Player award. He holds a career high scoring of 926 points and led the Pointers in scoring during the 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons. Chet was inducted into the UW-Stevens Point basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Chet devoted 41 years of his life to education at Berlin High School. He taught Social Studies, coached varsity basketball, baseball, cross country, and golf. He also served as Athletic Director and Audio-Visual Director, and was a WIAA basketball official for 15 years.
He was a member of All Saints Catholic Church and the third and fourth degree Knights of Columbus. He was also active in several Retired Teachers organizations and the Berlin and Wisconsin State Historical Societies. Historical events and community activities were of special interest to Chet. He was often seen video taping events for historical preservation. He was a volunteer at Berlin Memorial Hospital for a number of years, and received the Community Health Network Human Service Award in 2000. Chet was an avid golfer and won the Knights of Columbus State Golf Tournament in 1976.
Survivors include his wife, Carol; son, Dave (Candy) of Grafton, WI and their daughter, Korey (fiancee Erik); daughter Anne (Mark) Swanson of Manitowoc, WI and their children Melissa, Josh, and Matthew; daughter Sara (Todd) Nault of Green Bay, WI and their sons Richard and Jeff. He is further survived by four sisters, one brother, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and eight siblings.
Funeral services with the Mass of Christian Burial were held on Saturday July 15, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. from Saint Michael's Catholic Church of Berlin with the Rev. Jerome Maksvytis officiating and burial followed in the Saint Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery of Berlin. A luncheon and fellowship with the family were held following the services at the Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in Chet's name.
***********************************************************
Mr. Polka was one of my teachers in Berlin High School, where he taught "World History, and one of my favorite classes, "Local History". This class consisted of learning in depth the History of Berlin Wisconsin, that he once told us "Was the greatest little city in Wisconsin". That class consisted of Juniors and Seniors. One of the most memorable things we did in that class was restore a Cemetery in the extinct town of "Sacramento, Wisconsin", which had all been but forgotten, except for kids who had party's there, messed the place up, turned over headstones, etc. Our job...to clean in up and make it respectable. Today it is now taken very good care of, which makes me very happy, as I'm sure it did to Chet. Not many teacher's in school ever had the positive impact on me like Mr. Polka did. He is one teacher that was missed at BHS, and one that I'll remember forever.
