Thomas M. Griesemer

Thomas Mathew Griesemer of Johnson Creek, WI, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away in his home at age 88 on September 28, 2026 due to natural causes.

Born in Milwaukee in 1938 to Raymond (Ray) and Mildred (Millie) Griesemer, Tom and his brother Michael (Mike) would grow up together in the small, glass-infused brick home on N. 71st Street in Granville (later part of Milwaukee). Tom graduated high school as a skilled woodworker, and when he was 25 he married Patricia (Pat Dunai) Griesemer.

Tom was the funniest person in any room, unless his brother was there, and then they were the funniest people in the room (and wicked sharp horseshoe throwers). He was an incredibly hard worker who spent most of his adult life working for the Helwig Carbon Company, a manufacturer of the little carbon brushes that go into electrical motors. Tom was not a fan, overall, of brushless motors, it turns out. To keep a roof over his family’s head he worked many weekends straight through, painting homes inside and out, then coming back and doing more work on his own home. After work you could often catch Tom napping on the family love seat (aka the piggy bank from all the loose change we’d find) if Mom didn’t catch him there first.

Tom was father (Dad) to Corey, Kurt, and Gregg. He enjoyed hearing about his grandchildren’s achievements, and was happiest in his later years talking about them or his beloved Brewers.

And oh did he love the Brewers! A love inherited from his father Ray, the Brewers never did win it all, but that never stopped Tom from cheering them on, cussing them out, and generally being one of their biggest fans. And as a younger man, this guy had moves. At many a wedding and family get together, a 50s pop song would bring Tom to the dance floor, putting the rest of his family to shame (well, except for Corey, who picked up that dancing gene from his dad).

Married to Pat for 61 years, after she passed in 2024, Tom spent the last two years of his life living with his oldest son, Gregg. He had significant health scares over those two years and fought back from them all with a stubborn tenacity that impressed his doctors to no end.

Tom is preceded in death by his wife Pat Griesemer, mother and father Millie and Ray Griesemer, and his brother and sister-in-law Dennis and Wilma Dunai. He is survived by his brother Mike Griesemer and sister-in-law Judy Griesemer, his children, Gregg Griesemer, Kurt (wife Carrie), Corey (wife Leanne), and his grandchildren Casey, Cora, and Brody, as well as many nieces and nephews.

A private memorial service will be held at a future date.