Jon Sheller

Jon Sheller, age 76, of Montello, WI, passed away on Sunday, April 21, 2024, at University Hospital in Madison. He was born in Grant, MI, and moved to Montello as a young child and was a God-fearing man throughout his life. He lived a full life in this community, claiming to be the first person to soap the Montello waterfall when it became operational in 1966. He enjoyed muck farming, hunting, making popcorn on Sunday nights, tailgating at Packer games, and special trips to Maui with his wife Jean.   

An enthusiastic hobnobber, Jon could—and did—talk to anyone, sharing his humor and warmth with everyone he met. He was a truly gifted storyteller who may or may not have attended the 1967 Ice Bowl and who knew something about everything. He loved to laugh and tell jokes. Highlights of Jon being a child at heart include him spraying the garden hose in Jean’s dining room to win a water fight, catching a wild duck with his bare hands, rigging up a plastic bat to terrorize unsuspecting trick-or-treaters, all the soup cans in the pantry bearing the wrong label, and the annual five-minute 4th of July illegal firecracker finale.   

Jon loved his job as a mint buyer at Labbeemint, Inc. and working on behalf of the farming families who meant so much to him. He excelled at spending Labbeemint’s money to wine and dine the Midwest mint farmers, loving nothing more than buying a round of shrimp cocktails for the table. He enjoyed serving his community as a member of the Montello Volunteer Fire Dept, Montello City Council, Marquette County Board of Supervisors, and as an EMT for over twenty years. As a longtime member of the Montello School District Board of Education, Jon was passionate about educating every child so they can reach their full potential. He recalled struggling with learning to read as a child, even though he could take a battleship apart and put it back together.  

Jon was a great dad, instilling a curiosity and love of the natural world through midnight viewings of the northern lights and fungus hunting on the Sheller farm. He hand-made his daughters’ Halloween costumes each October, snowblowed an ice skating rink on Montello Lake for them in the winter, and was always game for adopting another cat. He shared a passion for historical knowledge, sites, and museums with his daughter Whitni, and enjoyed the days spent laughing in the deer stand and turkey blind with his daughter Yedda. 

Jon is survived by his wife of 48 years, Jean (Wegenke), to whom he proposed on their second date; his daughters: Whitni (Jeremy) Kral and Yedda (Ben) Olson; his grandchildren: Thea, Tate, and Tess Kral and Vivian, Lucy, and August Olson; mother-in-law, Diane Metcalf; his sisters: Karen Peña and Deb Loring; in-laws:  Susan (Jim) Schultz, Mark (Patti) Wegenke and Dayna Wegenke; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Jon is preceded in death by former Montello mayoral candidate Bob the Cat; his parents, Howard and Vendla (Henrikson) Sheller; his sisters: Sandra (Richard) Stephens and Verna Henrikson; brother-in-law, Jay Wegenke; and his godson, Rob Schultz.    

A memorial service for Jon Sheller will be held on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 11:30 AM at Trinity United Methodist Church in Montello.  Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM until the hour of service.  Pastor Lisa Gilbert will preside and inurnment will be private.   In lieu of flowers, donations are preferred to the family for an educational scholarship that will be established in Jon’s name.

Crawford Funeral and Cremation Service of Montello and Oxford is honored to be serving the family.  www.CrawfordFH.com