John Henry Karolewski

John H. Karolewski, of Hartford and St. Germain, passed away following an unexpected illness on October 20, 2025, aged 78 years young. Beloved husband of the late Mary Lynn (nee Kolacke).

Dearest father of Georgine (Andrew) Phillips and Stephanie (Eric) Remfrey, and adored "Papa" of Rhys, Pierce, Jayne, and Charlotte Phillips and Elliott Remfrey. Further survived by family and many friends.

John was a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan, season ticket holder, and team owner. No matter how dire the team's prospects appeared to be in a game's first half, John confidently proclaimed "it's ok, we're a second half team", believing all would be well again. When it wasn't, after the customary wailing, gnashing of teeth, and declarations of "They won't win another game this season!" hope rekindled and there was always the next game, then the next season. People might say they bleed Green & Gold, but nobody other than "Packer John" called it a day at 3:30pm and proceeded directly to bed following the Packers' disastrous last second loss to the then winless Colts in 1997.

A long-time resident of New Berlin, John was well known among friends and neighbors as the "snack king." The spread for Packers games, summer days in the pool, holidays and any other event involving food was the stuff of legend - a seemingly endless buffet of snacks (especially dips), which guaranteed no one left hungry. But beyond snacks, John was an excellent cook and nothing brought him greater joy than preparing a meal that others (especially Mary Lynn) truly enjoyed.

No matter the occasion, John could be found enjoying his Korbel brandy Manhattan with cherries. The better the day, the more generous he was with the cherries. The "perfect" Manhattan for John also involved a good cigar, whether at home or at a cigar bar.

His children and grandchildren enjoyed when John was in charge of meals as he was ever willing to ignore nutritional guidelines to make the kids happy. Saturday morning breakfasts could consist of ice cream sundaes, at least until Mom found out and permanently banned John from breakfast duty. (Ok, Georgine was the only one with ice cream breakfasts, and sometimes chips and dip.) John delighted in picking the breakfast tradition back up when the grandkids came around (especially Charlotte, who fully inherited John's sweet tooth).

He loved sweets and would consistently deliver two or three elaborate cookies from Sendik's to his youngest grandchild, Elliott, because he couldn't quite decide which one looked the most delicious. His favorite place to indulge his sweet tooth was Culver's, but he could be relied upon to find a "treat" nearly anywhere.

An eager road tripper and enjoyer of meandering drives, John somehow considered every random side trip to be "on the way" yet always managed to be at least an hour early to all family events. This delighted John's grandson Pierce, who always looked forward to catching up with Papa while mom and dad scrambled to get everything ready for the upcoming event. In true Midwestern style, every vacation was within driving distance, even if that vacation happened to be in Florida. For many years, beach vacations in the Florida Panhandle were a staple for John, sometimes with just family, sometimes also with friends, and most recently, enjoying beach vacations again with his daughter Stephanie and her family.

When warranted by the occasion, John was a snappy dresser who took pride in his appearance. Yet he was also a pioneer (decades ahead) of the current athleisure trend in fashion by insisting that there existed a fashion category known as "dress sweats," which we took simply to mean that the sweat pants had pockets. (We are electing to forget John's Zubaz pants phase, which lasted far longer than it should have.)

John enjoyed many wonderful times with family and friends at Ed Gabe's Resort on Lost Lake in St. Germain, his summer home away from home for over 25 years. Enjoying time with Mary Lynn, dining out, hosting family, friends, and especially the grandchildren, kept John busy and fulfilled. It was John's adventures with his grandson Elliott in the golf cart taking in lake views and the constant search for bear poop that brought both of them joy. Gabe's is also the place where John relaxed and enjoyed life to the fullest while sitting in front of the cottage. "Well, it's three o'clock. Time for a cocktail" would begin the ritual of enjoying the afternoon while chatting and preparing for dinner.

Golfing was a lifelong passion, and he enjoyed breaking in a new set of clubs this past summer. One of John's greatest joys was golfing with his sons-in-law and grandson. No matter what really happened, John was likely to insist that Rhys "came pretty close to breaking par."

John's last big family trip ended up being a grand road trip to Alabama with Georgine, Stephanie and Andy to see his granddaughter Jayne. The whole crew watched the Badgers get whipped by the Crimson Tide from front row seats in Bryant Denny Stadium. And in true John fashion, he welled up a bit when he saw the Bart Starr memorabilia in the Bear Bryant museum.

Our dad was a "good" guy - he adored his wife and made her happiness his overriding goal; he loved his family with his whole heart, worked hard doing things he didn't always love in order to provide for us, and lived life with a profound sense of fun and good humor. We are consoled by the knowledge that he is finally together again with his beloved wife and best friend, our mom, who has been waiting for him since 2016.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday October 29, 2025 at the Becker Ritter Funeral Home from 10:30 AM until the time of his Memorial Service at 11:30 AM. If desired, memorials are suggested to ProHealth AngelsGrace Hospice in Oconomowoc, WI.