Walter Mentuis

Walter Anthony Mentuis, Jr. was born on August 5, 1950 in Medinah, Illinois to Walter and Mildred Mentuis. He is survived by his “Sweetie” Jeannie; daughter Jeni, son-in-law Ray Keitz and granddaughter Mackenzie of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; son Chad Mentuis, wife Krissa and granddaughter’s Kamdyn and Kinley of Jersey Village, Texas; son Tim Mentuis of Berlin, Wisconsin; grandson Conner Mentuis of Piedmont, Oklahoma and granddaughter Rheagan Cox of Yukon, Oklahoma; brother Steve Mentuis of Litchfield, Minnesota; mother Mildred of Berlin, Wisconsin; uncle Jimmy and wife of Arlington Heights, Illinois; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He is preceded in death by his Father, Walter; sister Lynn and son Scotty. Wally was born with a hammer in one hand and a fishing pole in the other. If you knew my Dad, you knew his heart for construction and fishing. If something was broken, he fixed it. If there was a fish to be caught, it was on his line (of course if it wasn’t, we heard the story of how BIG the fish was “that got away”). He was crafty and creative with everything he touched. He could do anything from build a house to paint tiny little magnets for his grandkids. His latest passion was coins. He collected, cleaned, sold and bought as many coins as he could get his hands on. He spent countless hours on coin collections for each of his grandkids. Ever ask Daddy about his grandkids? He would puff out his chest out and proudly say, “I have 5 grandkids!” Mackenzie, Rheagan, Conner, Kamdyn and Kinley. He loved each of his grandkids dearly and they adored their G-Pops. G-Pops stepped back in to the world of being a child when his grandkids were around. He painted and colored, played with coins or just snuggled on the couch watching Nickelodeon. It didn’t matter what he was doing, he just wanted to hear the sounds of little voices surrounding him. The morning of October 24th, G-Pops mailed a Halloween card to all 5 of his grandchildren, not realizing just how much these cards would be cherished. On March 24, 2007 our lives were changed forever with the loss of Scotty. Daddy was in a very dark place without any hope of being happy again. In September of 2007, Daddy was given the amazing gift of life. This gift was in the form of a little redhead he liked to call “Sweetie”. We were all very blessed when Jeannie came in to our lives. Daddy learned to live again. He learned to laugh and love completely. Our Dad was truly happy again. For this we will forever be thankful to Daddy’s “Sweetie”. There’s a good chance you have been invited to Daddy and Jeannie’s for dinner. Daddy loved to cook for his family and friends. Whether you were an old friend or new friend, he wanted to feed you day or night. He never followed a recipe and you were guaranteed to have mushrooms in whatever dish he made. You also knew if you came for dinner, you were going home with leftovers. These few words don’t fully express the way we feel about our Dad and to say he will be missed is a true understatement. In the coming weeks we will find our comfort in knowing that Daddy is fishing with Scotty again. Thank you to all of our friends for loving our Dad... To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Walter Mentuis please visit our Sympathy Store.