William P. "Bill" Crownhart
William “Bill” Philip Crownhart, age 67 of Elmwood, passed away Sunday, September 13, 2015. Bill was born September 26, 1947 in Plum City, WI (Pierce County) to Philip and Lucille (Schwartz) Crownhart. He graduated from Elmwood High School in 1965. After graduating from Elmwood, he attended University of Wisconsin-River Falls and studied agronomy and agriculture, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 1969. During college he hauled milk for the Hatchville Cheese Factory. After college, he worked for the Department of Defense at Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, Illinois and served in the U.S. Army Reserves.
On June 26th, 1971, he married the love of his life, Anna Mae Koch at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Jefferson, WI. The new couple lived in Davenport, IA for one year then moved to Battle Creek, MI for a short stay before beginning farming with Anna’s parents in Jefferson in 1973. In 1976, they moved to Elmwood, WI and purchased the Crownhart Family Dairy Farm on County Road G, Spring Lake Township, from Philip and Lucille. Bill spent the rest of his life with his wife on this farm where they raised a family of five children and milked dairy cows until 2003. Throughout their time on the farm, Bill and Anna received multiple awards for milk quality and production. Bill was a conservation-conscience farmer and was dedicated to preserving the land. Since 2003, they have been cash cropping, producing maple syrup, and farm fresh free-range eggs.
Bill had a passion for many things including making maple syrup in the traditional flat pan over wood fire method, cutting wood, and simply spending time in the woods and at the sugar shack. He loved reading, spending time with his grandchildren, hunting, his dogs, and being active with the church. Above all else, Bill loved his wife, Anna, and his five children.
Bill was the current Grand Knight of the Elmwood Knights of Columbus Council 6599 at Sacred Heart parish. He was also a member of the church choir, Eucharistic minister both at church and for the homebound, lector, and former Parish Council President. He was commissioned a Lay Minister for the LaCrosse diocese in May 1987 and since then has done numerous wake services for fellow parishioners. Bill found great comfort in the Lord and based his life around his faith and his family.
Bill is survived by his wife of 44 years, Anna, of Elmwood WI. Five children: Maria of Hudson, WI; Amy (Kimm) of Eau Claire, WI; John of Elmwood, WI; Rachel of Hastings, MN; Andrea (Mark) Fritts of Havana, IL. Five grandchildren: Bo and Brett Crownhart, Lucas and Callie Hydinger, Clare Julianne Fritts. Sister: Joan (Norm) Link of Cudahy, WI: brothers Mark of Minneapolis, MN; Ed (Debbie) of Stratford, WI. Brothers-in-laws: Roger (Paula) Koch of Solana Beach, CA; George Koch of Jefferson, WI. Sister-in-law: Sr. Julianne Koch of Glendale, WI. As well as multiple nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law John Koch.
A Time to Remember the Life of Bill will be from 4-8 pm on Thursday, September 17, 2015 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Elmwood, WI with a prayer service concluding the evening at 7:30 pm. A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, September 18 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Elmwood with visitation one hour prior to Mass. Burial will be at Sacred Heart-Farm Hill Cemetery in Elmwood. Services entrusted to the Rhiel Funeral home of Elmwood, WI.
In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the church or the charity of your choice in Bill’s name.