After enduring months of severe pain that rendered him unable to enjoy life, Tony found relief and peace on June 11, 2021 when he left this earth. Tony was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on May 24, 1962, the first son of Wayne and Janice (Cholewinski) Reese. Tony graduated from Oshkosh West in 1980 and then earned a degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Memphis. Tony later returned to Oshkosh, working at Oshkosh Truck while earning a master’s degree in Mathematics at UWO. He then began teaching at Moraine Park, where he just completed his 27th year. Tony was born to teach, any subject, any skill—he could learn it and then teach it. He had a true love of passing on his knowledge. Tony also spent many years working with his former students at Kingsbury, Inc.
Tony’s son, Kevin Lee, was born in Oshkosh in 1985. Tony derived great joy from teaching him, and they shared many adventures together. Tony was always happy to lead trips to Kolf Sports Center, the Wolf River, or the Red Granite Quarry.
On June 23, 2001, Tony married his best friend, Patti (Cahill) Longdin, in a beautiful ceremony at Lakeside Park, and Patti’s daughters gained the best “Faux Pa” they could ever imagine. At the end of his life, Tony wrote that he had “loved every minute of their life together and wished that they could do it all over again.” They enjoyed escaping winter with their adopted family in Jamaica where he rode his motorcycle all over the island, buying treats for the children that flocked to him. Summers were made for long rides with his beloved dog Tedd on the back of his bike.
Tony was an avid golfer, who especially enjoyed figuring out the mechanics of the golf swing. Making the lawns of “the village” in Oshkosh look beautiful, snowplowing around the entire block, creating new teaching materials, and taking care of his family—no matter what Tony did, he gave it 150 percent.
Tony is survived by his loving wife Patti who will miss him every day for the rest of her life, the two stepdaughters that he adored, Katie (Kevin) Wilke and Amanda (Tyler Gau) McCormick, as well as his son Kevin and his family of Appleton. His special granddaughter Kinsleigh Anne will always miss her beloved Grumpo. He is further survived by his father Wayne of Oshkosh, his brothers Jim and Bob (Stacey) of Oshkosh and Rich (Tracy) of Menomonee Falls. Tony’s nieces and nephews are left with memories of fun with an uncle who was usually the biggest kid in the room. Jacob Cahill was a special nephew whom Tony considered to be his second boy. He was preceded in death by his mother Janice in 2014.
A celebration of Tony’s life will be held on Thursday, June 17, 2021 at Uecker-Witt Funeral Home. A visitation will be held from 3:00 to 6:00 PM with a service at 6:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be established to benefit students at Moraine Park.
Additional information and guestbook can be found at ueckerwitt.com
Thursday, June 17, 2021
3:00 - 6:00 pm (Central time)
Uecker-Witt Funeral Home
Thursday, June 17, 2021
Starts at 6:00 pm (Central time)
Uecker-Witt Funeral Home
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