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Wesley Gales

1930 - 2015

Wesley Gales obituary, 1930-2015, Sturgeon Bay, WI

BORN

1930

DIED

2015

FUNERAL HOME

Wesley Gales Obituary

Gales, Wesley V.

Wesley Vincent Gales, 84, of Sturgeon Bay, passed away Sunday morning, April 19, 2015, with family at his side.

He was born August 26, 1930, in Milwaukee, the son of the late Thomas and Hazel (Vickory) Gales. After graduating from high school, Wesley served his country in the United States Army as a paratrooper. Upon the completion of his service, he drove bus for the Milwaukee County Transit System. During this time, he also attended night school in Milwaukee and achieved a degree in court reporting.

On April 7, 1956, Wesley married Elizabeth (Betty) Katherine Schweiss, and just days ago they celebrated their 59th anniversary.

Wesley's career as a court reporter started in Kenosha County, where he worked as the official reporter for the Honorable Harold Bode. While in Kenosha, he became an integral part of Gateway Technical College's court reporting program. He taught English on a part-time basis and also wrote a court reporting training manual for Gateway's students.

During this time, he was also very active in the Wisconsin Court Reporters Association (WCRA) and the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA). He served on WCRA's board of directors and served a term as president of the association. He was also on the editorial staff of NCRA's magazine, which published several of his articles.

One of Wesley's great passions in life was helping student and working reporters further their careers. He accomplished this by becoming skilled in writing speed tests that were used by NCRA in its certification process.

In the 1980s NCRA recognized Wesley for his contributions to the profession and named him a Fellow, one of its highest honors.

In 1980 Wesley was hired by the late Honorable Edwin C. Stephan as his official reporter, and the family moved to Sturgeon Bay. After Judge Stephan's retirement, Wesley became the official reporter for the Honorable John D. Koehn.

Wesley retired from court reporting in 1992, but in his heart he still wanted to be involved in helping student reporters. To this end, he started his own business, Gales Dictation. He published several volumes of tests and other dictation that schools across the nation purchased.

Outside of work, Wesley excelled in chess. In his younger days, he would travel to the Milwaukee Chess Club for friendly competition and tournaments. Later he became involved in postal chess and held a master ranking. Years after the onset of Alzheimer's, he won a postal tournament and placed high in other tournaments.

Wesley's memory will live on in the hearts of his family: wife, Elizabeth (Betty), of Sturgeon Bay; son, John (Connie) Gales of Green Bay; daughters, Kathy Meyer of Green Bay and Laura (Savva) Biller of Albuquerque, NM; seven grandchildren, Paul, Mark, Marie, Aubrey, Ashley, Austin, Stefan; great-granddaughter, Amelia; and sister-in-law, Genevieve Hall of Pittsville, WI.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, William and Keith Gales; and sister, Edna Garthee.

No public services will be held. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established with the Alzheimer's Association.

The family thanks the team at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah and Hospice Advantage for their care given to Wesley.

Huehns Family Life Tributes of Sturgeon Bay is assisting the Gales family. Condolences and guestbook signing may be offered at www.huehnsfuneralhome.com.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Green Bay Press-Gazette from Apr. 21 to Apr. 22, 2015.

Memories and Condolences
for Wesley Gales

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6 Entries

Paula Watson

April 22, 2015

I am so very sorry to hear of Jack's passing. He was such a great man. He will be sadly missed. My thoughts are with you all.

Debra Mancoske

April 22, 2015

I am sorry for your loss. My prayers are with all of you. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet him when I practiced in the Door County Court system.

tom reynolds

April 21, 2015

Thinking of Wes today as a court reporter. He helped me as a young lawyer and once instructed me in an appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. I'll miss Wes, a good man. Tom Reynolds

Ronald Venci

April 21, 2015

Dear John and Connie. I am sorry to read that Wesley has passed away. He always took the time to talk to me when I appeared in Court no matter how busy or hectic the calendar was. I hope that all the good memories that you have of your dad eases the pain of losing him.

Douglas DeGraff

April 21, 2015

Dear John and Connie,
We were saddened to hear of your Dad's passing. You are in our prayers.

With Christ's Love,

Doug and Terri DeGraff

Sheri Piontek

April 21, 2015

John and Connie,

Wesley was a great man and his accomplishments were outstanding! You have many wonderful memories of him. Sending both of you an enormous hug!

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To offer your sympathy during this difficult time, you can now have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in memory of your loved one.

Funeral services provided by:

Huehns Funeral Home, Inc. & Door County Crematory LLC - Sturgeon Bay

1414 Michigan Street P.O. Box 6, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

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