Dwight Henry Folkers, 96, of Lake Geneva, WI, formerly of Coffeen and Taylorville, died at 10:14 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn, WI.
Memorial visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until the time of service and military honors at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at Calvary Community Church, located at N2620 Harris in Lake Geneva, WI. Inurnment will be held at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Springfield.
Mr. Folkers was born on Dec. 10, 1928, to the late Henry and Esther (Brackebush) Folkers on the family farm in Coffeen. He was united in marriage with Dorothy White on June 20, 1953, in Coffeen, and she preceded him in death on Aug. 14, 2018.
Mr. Folkers served his country during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953. He was a military policeman at the Fort Dix location in Trenton, NJ. Upon completion of his military service, he returned to farm with his father. While farming, he also worked in construction.
Mr. Folkers was eventually hired by Commonwealth Edison in Kinkaid and worked there from 1964 to 1989. He was also hired to help build the Commonwealth Edison Kinkaid Power Station. After the project was complete, Mr. Folkers was hired by the ComEd company to continue working at the Kinkaid station, a job he thoroughly loved. He moved up through the ranks to eventually become part of management at that station. Upon retirement, he returned to working at the family farm with his father.
Mr. Folkers loved farming and reading up on anything farm-related. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Taylorville and also attended Calvary Community Church in Lake Geneva, WI.
Mr. Folkers loved being with family and especially enjoyed time spent with his grandson, Christopher, who is involved with vintage auto racing. The two spent many hours in the garage working on the race car as well as other antique autos that they collected. Mr. Folkers loved being outdoors and doing yard work with his daughter-in-law, Daniela—and she loved spending time with him.
Although Mr. Folkers was not a musician, he greatly enjoyed attending concerts that were performed by his son Michael and Daniela, his wife, both professional musicians in the Chicago area. His highlight was attending his son’s Judson University Percussion Ensemble concert twice a year and being acknowledged to the audience as ‘Michael’s Dad.’ Mr. Folkers enjoyed spending time in God’s word and reading books by Pastor David Jeremiah. And no one can forget that he loved his biscuits and gravy in the morning.
Mr. Folkers is survived by his son, Michael Dwight (Daniela) Folker of Arlington Heights; grandson, Christopher Folker of Arlington Heights; and several nieces and nephews.
Along with his parents and wife, Mr. Folkers was preceded in death by his sister, Valeria (Folkers) Austin.
Lazarczyk Family Funeral Homes of Lake Geneva and Delavan are proudly serving the family. For additional information, please call (262)-248-2320. Condolences may be left online at www.lffh.net.
