Breaker/Breaker “Wild Bill” 10-7 Signing off. William Henry Polakowski went to be with God on May 19th, 2019 after a brief illness. Bill was the baby of his ten sibling family born on November 13th, 1928 to parents Gustave Polakowski and Cora (Breuwet) Polakowski.
His early days were spent in Red Granite. As a teenager he got a job at Riverside Paper Corp. in Appleton, only to enlist in the United States Navy shortly thereafter.
In his five years of service during the Korean War he worked mainly at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. That’s where he met his future bride Dorothy Edelen. They were married on November 26, 1949 and were two weeks shy of celebrating 67 happy years together when Dorothy passed away on November 11, 2016. After his Navy service Bill returned to work at the paper mill; the majority of his 46+ year career was spent driving semi-truck, where he acquired the CB handle “Wild Bill”.
Besides being a trustworthy trucker Bill was also the longtime treasurer for the paper mill’s United Paper Workers Union local. After winning Riverside Paper’s first ever Employee of the Month honor Bill was quoted as saying his most important “buddy” was his wife Dot, a bright spot in a rather dull life. In his spare time, Bill enjoyed working on cars, playing golf, and traveling with his wife Dot, and kids.
Bill had a strong work ethic that not only allowed him to provide for his family, but provided his six children with a strong example of how to be a success. He was an honest, hard-working, God fearing man, who cherished the simple life, and a simple philosophy “most anything can be fixed with a hammer”. In CB lingo Bill’s 10-20 is now in Heaven.
Bill is survived by his five children: two daughters: Peggy Rusch, Surfside Beach SC and Betty Bressers (Jim), Broken Arrow, OK; three sons: Joseph (Nancy), Madison WI, Michael (Kathy), Tucson, AZ and David (Monica), Holt, MI; his brother Robert; and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Bill was further preceded in death by his loving daughter Lynn; his parents; and his eight siblings: Lawrence, Agnes, Catherine, Clarence, Bernard, Frances, Gus and Margaret. A Mass of Christian burial for Bill will be 1:00 PM on Thursday June 6, 2019 at SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH, 222 E Fremont St. Appleton, with Fr.
Don Zuleger officiating. Visitation will be held at the church on Thursday June 6, beginning at 12:00 until 12:45 PM, with Mass to begin at 1:00PM. Bill’s children would like to express their sincere gratitude to the entire staff at Living Tree Estates in Greenville, for all of their kindness and loving care given to Bill and Dorothy.
They truly exerted themselves to make dad and mom feel comfortable and appreciated.
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