George "Butch" Edward Lake Jr.

George Edward Lake Jr. “Butch” passed away on August 22, 2021 at the age of 77. Butch was born on March 3, 1944 in Milwaukee to the late George and Alice (Stefanski) Lake. On April 11, 1964, he was united in marriage to Kathleen “Kathy” Martens at St. Francis in Milwaukee. She survives. The couple formerly resided in Rhinelander and Pound as well as Horicon where Butch worked in maintenance at John Deere. The couple then settled in Antigo. Butch was a Freemason. He enjoyed gardening, bird watching, and motorcycling. He loved nature and nature often loved him back especially his pigeons and chickens. He was a short-wave radio ham operator along with an electronic and computer fanatic. He was known to be a bit stubborn at times, but always had a soft spot for his family, especially the grandkids. Butch loved with his whole heart and was always there for his family. In addition to his wife, Butch is survived by children; Darrell (Cheryl) Lake of Antigo, Dawn (Charlie) Lake of Antigo, Denise Lake-Stevens, and Debbie (Craig) Gilbertson of Pound, siblings; Mike (Dawn) Lake of Hustisford, James “Bud” Lake of Hartford, Jean “Sis” Lake of Rhinelander, and Pat (Kathy) Lake of Hartford, grandchildren; Season Roy, James (Nikki) Lake, Hunter Lake, Hayden Lake, Heather (William) Igl, Brandon Miller, Cassandra (Melvin) Wright, Natasha (Jason) Hanna, Summer Stevens, Trinity Stevens, Kylan Scott, Officer Dominique (Madison) Ramirez, and Tristen (Savannah) Hawkins, great grandchildren; Neveah, Dane, Miranda, Cameron, Jaxson, Juliana, Leland, and Jason, as well as many step grandchildren and great grandchildren. In addition to his parents, Butch was preceded in death by a son Dennis and a grandson Dennis. A celebration of life will be planned for a later date.