Wise, Rodney C.

Rodney C. Wise, born May 15th, 1946, to Earl and Helen Wise in Oconto Falls Wisconsin, passed away suddenly Saturday October 5th, 2024, due to complications related to Agent Orange exposure during his time spent in country during the Vietnam war.

Now that I have shared how my father passed away, let me tell you how he lived and share with you who didn’t know him, who he was.

My father went by many monikers, as many do throughout their life, beginning from the time of his birth until his passing, he was a son, whose nickname, Buzz, given to him by his mother, and carried on with him for the rest of his life and was known by many as, but he was also known as dad, to my brother Ryan and myself, and our wives after we married, he was known as brother to his in-laws, and Uncle Buzz to his countless nieces and nephews, and last but far from least, grandpa to  Hollie and Trent.

For a brief period, he was known as Sarge. A name he carried while he served in the United States Army, in Vietnam, which he earned a Bronze Star for his service, something that to this day we never learned the story of or what action of gallantry he did in combat to earn it. I guess some things, at least to my father were things that didn’t need to remembered or discussed further, as with many veterans this is common, but his time in service was one of the things he did in his life that he was most proud of.

After completing his tour in Vietnam, he returned home and acquired a position at his hometown school in Lena Wisconsin, where he graduated from in 1964, and  taught countless students for 31 years until his retirement in 2004, and yes my brother and I both had to call him Mr. Wise in school, if you can believe that?

My father loved teaching, and during his career, besides teaching American and World History he also taught English and Language studies. At the end of the school year, he would have a special day for his students in the 8th grade class and had a tradition of bringing out the slide projector, where he would take them on a journey across the world sharing all the pictures and slides of his time in Vietnam during the war, as well items he found while reconning tunnels the Vietcong dug to ambush them. He wanted to make sure we understood who the Vietnamese people were, understand their culture, and the difference between those that he had waged war against and those who he didn’t all while adding his own sense seriousness with a little touch of humor into the mix, it is something that to this day you could ask anyone of his students and they would be able to reflect on it, often with a smile, while appreciating the moment he spent telling his tale.

I think though that his absolute favorite name besides dad and grandpa, was Coach. My father loved basketball, and he loved coaching it, he approached coaching each game like a game of chess, gathering tapes of rival teams, studying his opponent for the pending battle royal, I kid you not basketball season was as serious as it could get in our house.

He started coaching Varsity boys basketball and some of my earliest memories were attending the games, not really to watch the game but waiting for half time so I could steal one of the balls and run out to try and make baskets, I was around 4 mind you, and this was before they would allow students to shoot buckets during halftime at games, but hey I was 4, I remember it was so exciting when I would make basket and the crowd would cheer, or how they would laugh when my mom would chase me around the court trying to catch me, but when the guys would return from the locker room, dad would snatch me up and hold me in his arms, telling firmly not to do it, and of course I never listened.

He made a point for all the teams he coached to bring them to Madison for state finals, so they could experience it all and hopefully give them the little spark that may start a run the next year.

When I entered Jr. High he switched coaching Varsity and moved down to be our coach, later on he told me it was because he felt it was better to coach us and to better prepare us for high school, but when I think about it now, I believe it was so could spend time with his sons, though he would never admit it.

Let me tell you, and many others will attest, if you played for my father and played poorly, on the following Monday, you ran and when I say we ran, we ran around the whole damn school, but the worst was the stairs, down the stairs past the locker rooms and back up again for 24 laps which was a mile, and how do you know this because he counted the steps for one lap and how many steps were in a mile, and then he would put you at the free throw line and you had to make whatever magical number he would think of baskets in a row. “Games are won by free throws!”, he would tell us, and then if you missed, he would say, “Run a lap and start over”, or jump rope for 5 min and try again. That was a practice if you lost a game or played poorly.

I must say when I look back it sure was fun when I was older and got to watch my younger brother Ryan face his wrath on the court,  remembering what my teammates and I had to endure and so many others that followed, it still makes me smile, well more like laugh.

After my brother moved onto high school, dad switched coaching once again, this time coaching girls Volleyball and  J.V. basketball, later coaching Varsity and making a few runs to state. 

Coaching the girls was the one thing he truly enjoyed, he loved it because he was able to see the girls improve, and how they would not only accomplish things he taught them on the court but take those lessons and apply them in life. And I know this after reading the many tributes and posts from some of his players after they heard of his passing and hearing them reflect on “the stairs” made me chuckle, but the truth of it all was they were truly humbling, and it wasn’t only his players but his former students too. In fact while I was making preparations for his funeral, I had to contact the school for some information, and when the administrator asked me for his name, her first words was, he was my favorite teacher after which she expressed her condolences and that if she could, would I mind if she shared the news, as there were other former students teaching at the school and working in the office.

When I reflect back while writing this, one can never encompass the deeds, relationships, mentoring or effect that one person can have on so many lives, nor how the effect of his passing has and will continue to make not only on our families lives, but to all those who knew him, admired him, and continue to admire him.

My dad was always there for Ryan and I when ever we needed him, to tell us how proud he was if we accomplished something, or pick us up if we stumbled, he was always there for his brothers and sisters in laws when they faced hardships and help if he could, he always had an open ear for all my cousins if they asked his advice, or needed help with a school project, or just wanted to spend time with him.

I know this is only a brief statement, or maybe a long one, I guess it depends on how you approach it, but I hope that I was able to at least give those of you reading this a brief glimpse of who my father was and how he lived. 

I,  like many of you could go on and on, sharing stories and memories, but for now those are mine, but I implore you to please remember yours with those you love, and tell them often how much they’re loved because there is a time in all our lives when you lose the one person, who throughout your life, you took for granted that they would always be there, until they’re not.

Rodney was preceded in death by the true love of his life, Phyllis, in May of this year; his parents Earl and Helen Wise; in-laws, Robert “Laverne” and Virginia Forbes; brothers-in-law, Ronald Johnson and Marvin Rhyner; sister-in-law, Debra Forbes; nieces, Hope and Shea Forbes; and grandnephew, Landen Havens.

Rodney is survived by his sons Robb (Stacy) Wise of Barneveld;  Ryan (Aimee) Wise of Suamico; His granddaughter Hollie (Zach) Roloff; grandson Trent Wise; his great-granddaughter, Naomi; and great-grandson, Jaden.

Brothers and Sisters in Law, Darlene Johnson of Mount Horeb, Shirley (Jerry) Olson of Dodgeville, Debra Rhyner of Ridgeway, Robert (Susan) Forbes of Lake Placid, Fla., Monica (Monte) Olday of Barneveld, William (Vicki) Forbes of Mount Horeb, and Thomas Forbes of Barneveld; as well as 24 nephews and nieces; and 51 great-nephews and great-nieces.

As per his wishes, dad has requested a private visitation with family and close friends followed by cremation, with a pending visitation and memorial service to be held in Lena with military honors and internment at the Lena cemetery at a later date.

Our family would like to thank the Barneveld EMT service for their quick response, care and efforts assisting my father and getting him to the VA hospital in Madison.

We cannot begin to express the gratitude we have for the ER and critical care team at the VA hospital. From the moment my father arrived until he drew his last breath multiple doctors and nurses were by his side exhausting every effort to save his life, but as they told us, he was telling us it was his time, and we had to let him go.