Just 16 days shy of his 93rd birthday, Steven Vladimir Telisak passed away peacefully under the tender care of his family at his home on Lake Wissota. He was born on a snowy December 23, 1929, on the family farm in the Town of Colburn to Vladimir(Louis) and Mary (Husenic) Telisak. Steve was a sibling to Michael, Eva, Barbara, Phillip, Nicholas, Peter, William, George, Walter and Mary.
Even at the early age of 3, Steve always told it like it was. One day he walked into the farmhouse extremely dirty with filthy clothes. His mother told him that he looked like a pig and he shot right back, “pigs don’t wear clothes.” Steve was a jokester and played a lot of pranks on unwary people over the years. He would then smile a certain type of smile and have a twinkle in his eye.
Steve had very fond memories of his early years growing up on the farm. Steve was an entrepreneur from a young age. With his bike, he would travel from farm to farm, selling papers and magazines. He also took an extreme interest in trapping, and the money to be made on furs. He went out every morning to check his trap line before catching a bus to Stanley High School. One time, he caught a muskrat, but did not have time to take it out of the trap, so he hung it up in the shed. When he got home from school he went to deal with the dead muskrat, but it was not dead and it bit him on the finger. At the age of 17 the family bought a silo filler. After his dad’s silo was filled, Steve took the filler and did custom filling for area farmers, hauling all the parts needed and setting everything up himself. He was always thinking of other ventures and constantly had ideas to make things easier to do.
In 1947, at the age of 17 he graduated from high school. He barely made it to the graduation ceremony as he got the old farm truck stuck on a very muddy road. He walked in the rain to a farm to get help. He was damp from the rain, but he made it to the graduation in time to hear his name being called.
In the winter of 47-48 he and one of his brothers started logging off the farm with an axe and a two-man crosscut saw. As early as 12, Steve’s dad would rely on him to fix any broken machinery. Steve just had a natural skill at handling things, no matter what it might be. Steve loved roaming the woods and his country roads; maybe that’s why he always took the scenic routes on all his trips.
In the fall of 1948, Steve joined the Navy. In 1949, he was transferred to submarine school in New London, Connecticut. After passing all the rigorous testing to be a submariner, Steve was assigned to the Key West Florida Fleet on the submarine Trumpetfish SS425. Following his service, Steve headed back to work a farm purchased by his father for Steve and worked it with his brother George. At just 21, Steve designed and built a large shed on the farm. Steve’s father told Steve he was too young to know how to do that, but that shed still stands to this very day. Steve was called back to active duty with the Navy in the fall of 1951 during the Korean War.
In July of 1954, Steve finished his time with the Navy and headed off to UW River Falls to study agricultural sciences. He worked several jobs to pay his way through school, and still found the time to get back to the farms to help his parents and brothers out. In 1955, Steve decided the farmhouse needed a basement, so, he and a couple of his brothers jacked the house up and dug out a basement by hand. In 1956, he went to Milwaukee and joined Western Electric. Steve still had that entrepreneuring drive, so he bought 24 surplus government homes and took them apart and moved them to southern Wisconsin, reassembled them, fixed them up, and gradually sold them off.
Steve enjoyed travel and while working for Western Electric, he was transferred to many locations around the country. Steve received a permanent transfer to Eau Claire in 1971 and that is where his life really changed.
Steve loved the old time music and especially polka music. In the early 70’s there were a lot of places a person could go to enjoy the music and dance. That is where he met his future bride, Patricia Michalak. As Steve put it, he decided to “bite the bullet” and marry his red headed farm girl on June 2, 1973. They had many amazing adventures in their almost 50 years together, including building their own home from the ground up and having six of the most amazing children, Christina, Steven, Michael, Tanya, Gregory and Christopher. Steve was deeply involved with his children and would do anything to help them succeed. He became heavily involved in 4-H being a project leader in several areas including woodworking and electrical. Summer time typically included a several week trip, with a tent or camper, taking the family around the United States (usually on those “scenic routes” Steve so loved.) He always had to check out the local crops, antique car shows and historical places on those trips. Steve’s heart stayed on the farm, which he came back to many times to help his brothers and later take over as they passed on.
Steve was a lifetime member of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Huron. He did so much work there, putting in a “real” bathroom, wiring for electrical, caring for the cemetery, tearing out old concrete steps and whatever else needed to be done to keep things running smoothly.
Steve retired from Western Electric/ATT in 1991. He didn’t sit still, taking time to travel with Pat to Alaska, Russia and Australia along with several trips around the United States. He worked on all types of projects for the kids. They knew he would be able to handle anything. With grandchildren coming into his life, he enjoyed time with them and taught them a lot. He shared his sense of humor and pranks with them.
There is so much to this amazing man who was a jackof- all-trades and involved in so many things; that it is impossible to tell them all here. I love you Steve. You are my every thing!
Steve is survived by his wife, Pat, their 6 children, Christina (Patrick) Hull, Steven (Mary), Michael (Jennie), Tanya, Gregory (Alissa) and Christopher (Tina) and 14 grandchildren; Patrick, Tatiana, Gregory, William, Nadya, Isabella, Trajan, Mya, Aidan, Talia, Steven, Elliott, Ellison and Irina. Steve is survived by one brother, William.
A funeral service will be held at 11AM on Saturday December 17, 2022 at St John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Huron with Father Thaddeus Wojcik officiating. Burial will follow in the Church Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4-7 on Friday at the Plombon Funeral Home in Stanley and for an hour prior to services Saturday at the church.
