Peter Paul Lovinus, Jr.
December 15, 1932 – February 13, 2022
Peter Paul Lovinus, Jr., was called home to God peacefully and surrounded by his loved ones on February 13, 2022. He was 89 years old.
Visitation for Peter begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 5, at St. Therese Congregation, 9525 W. Bluemound Rd. Milwaukee. A memorial Mass will follow at noon.
Peter was born December 15, 1932, in Milwaukee, Wis. the son of dairy farmers from Austria and Hungary who settled on the city’s northwest side in what was then called Granville township. His meticulous nature prompted his parents to send him to school across town at Boys Technology and Trade School (class of 1950).
After graduation, Peter enlisted in the U.S. Army, and in 1952 deployed with the 40th Infantry Division to Korea. As a soldier, he carried an M1 Carbine rifle and an E-flat flute on his way to earning the rank of Staff Sergeant. Later he served at “Fort Lost-in-the-Woods” (Ft. Leonard Wood) in south-central Missouri.
Pete returned to Milwaukee after the service and made his career at Wisconsin Electric as an architectural draftsman, where for 38 years he manned the drawing board with a compass, steel rule, and only the sharpest #2 pencil. In 1956, on a blind date set up by mutual friends, he met Elizabeth ’Betty’ Fetzer, a surgical nurse at St. Mary’s hospital. He married Betty on March 2, 1957 and they would have four boys and two girls on their way to celebrating 65 anniversaries together.
Family life centered around Mother of Perpetual Help parish on W. Villard Ave. where Pete served on the parish council. On Sundays, he administered Holy Communion and sang tenor in the choir—“ten-or twelve miles away” according to his favorite joke. He coached the MPH Saints youth baseball team and led Boy Scout Troop 98 on numerous camping trips and service outings.
In his golden years, Pete enjoyed painting, spending time with his grandchildren, cooking bacon on wilderness campouts, attending ball games, second-guessing Milwaukee Brewers management, and cracking his trademark Grandpa jokes from his favorite recliner while he worked the crossword puzzle with a very sharp pencil.
In 2014, Pete was honored with a Stars and Stripes Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. for his service in the Korean War, and in connection, threw the first pitch at a Brewers game at Miller Park. Today, three of his grandchildren are U.S. Army Officers, with another set to graduate West Point USMA in Spring.
Pete is preceded in death by his parents Peter Sr. and Stella; his brothers Walter (Minnie) and Charles, and his sister Stella Lorenz. He is survived by his beloved wife Elizabeth, and children Paul, Tom (Michelle), Steve (Lisa) Lovinus, Suzanne, Marie (Geoff) Zeidler, and James; his sister-in-law Trudy Lacey and nieces Patty (Ron) Stefanski, Jeanne (Steve) Lisak, Karen (Don) MacLeod, Kathy (Jim) Szopinski, and Mary Catherine ‘Schatzi’ Allen, and nephew Jake (Marion) Lovinus. He is further survived by his grandchildren Adam (Lilledeshan), Erin (Chris McClure), Megan Zeidler (Clerson Lelanne), John (Mackenzie) Zeidler, Peter (Andrea) Zeidler, Andrew Zeidler, Benjamin Zeidler, Carl Zeidler, and Elizabeth Zeidler; and by his great-grandchildren Kaya ‘Schatzi’ and Jah, with whom he shares a birthday, among other family and friends.
Many thanks to all for their kind and compassionate care for Peter, especially for the past three years.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Disabled American Veterans www.dav.org/ways-to-give/.
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