Betty June Fogeltanz, a member of the Antigo Daily Journal staff for 65 years, died Friday, Oct. 24, 2008. She was 85 years old.
A prolific writer and lover of verse, Mrs. Fogeltanz was born Jan. 3, 1923 in Antigo, a daughter of the late William and Daisy (Krueger) Wessa. Her father was a noted local photographer, including chronicling the 107th Trench Mortar Battery during World War I, and Mrs. Fogeltanz occasionally assisted him in his darkroom.


A 1941 graduate of Antigo High School, Mrs. Fogeltanz began her working career at Montgomery Ward and also in an occupation that, today anyway, seems a bit unusual. She was employed by Warner Brothers Pictures in Antigo, monitoring ticket sales of that studio's movies playing at the Home Theater.


She joined Berner Brothers Publishing in 1943, spending 65 years in the clerical department, retiring in this fall.


She married Charles Fogeltanz on June 25, 1949 at Unity Evangelical and Reformed Church. The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1999.


Active in her congregation, Mrs. Fogeltanz served as financial secretary at Unity Evangelical and Reformed Church, a position she continued for many years after the congregation merged with Faith United Church of Christ. She was also active in Women of Faith.


She was known for her wordcraft, both at the Antigo Daily Journal and in her church, where she penned the Christmas Bazaar poem for 40 years. She also contributed humorous poetry for retirement dinners and other special events and was published in the National Rose Society Magazine and Saturday Evening Post, where she won a nationwide limerick contest.


An avid collector, Mrs. Fogeltanz knew all of her 400 dolls by name. She also had over 100 elephants.

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