William John Baumgardt, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away peacefully on April 22, 2025, at the age of 78. Born on January 18, 1947, grew up in Bay View, Wisconsin, and later raised a family in Greendale, Wisconsin.

He was a "tough Papa" who overcame many challenges. At age 5 when his father passed away, he became the "man" of the house and despite being exempt from the draft, he volunteered to bravely serve as a Marine in Vietnam where he earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

He later put himself through college (the first in his family to go) while working as a Financial Manager at Miller Brewing Company. He was an outdoorsman who fished, hunted, played softball and skied until the challenges of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) compromised his ability to participate in physical activities. He compensated for this by being an avid Brewer fan and he loved going to games whenever he could.

Even with all of his personal triumphs, the thing he was most proud of was his family. During his final days when he could barely speak, he would proudly declare "I love my family".

He is survived by this family he so proudly built, including his loving wife, Cathy Baumgardt, children, Kimmi (Rick) Muellenberg, Shelley Baumgardt, Amy Baumgardt (Lynn McDonnell), and grandchildren, Theodore Muellenberg, Peyton McDonnell and Kinsey McDonnell.

Visitations will be from 12-2:00pm on May 1, 2025, with a memorial service to follow at the Hartson Funeral Home, and an interment with military honors will be held at a later date at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Horse Power Healing Center,
https://www.horsepowerhealingcenter.com/support.html
and MS-Just Keep Moving, https://msjustkeepmoving.org/