Wilbur Sugden

Wilbur W. “Will” Sugden, 98, of Platteville, passed away unexpectedly on December 30, 2015 at Southwest Health Center in Platteville, with his wife, Laura, by his side. Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday, January 3, 2016 at the Melby Funeral Home & Crematory, Platteville, where military rites will be accorded by VFW Post #5274 and American Legion Post #42. Pastor Elizabeth Whitford, of Whig Methodist Church, will officiate. Burial will be at Whig Cemetery. Friends may call from 12:00 p.m. (Noon) until the time of service on Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Whig Methodist Church, whose members always made Will feel welcome and loved. Online condolences may be made at www.melbyfh.com.

Will was born on April 8, 1917 in Litchfield, MN, the youngest of seven children born to Fred and Neva (Bannister) Sugden. When he was an infant, the family moved to northeastern Montana where he spent much of his life. Will was a World War II veteran, serving in England with the Army Air Corps. Among his duties was helping to rescue downed Allied pilots by triangulation location. After his discharge from Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, in 1945, Will held various jobs, operating a service station for a number of years, and serving on the Roosevelt County highway department staff in Wolf Point, Montana. After retirement, he and Laura divided their time between Fort Peck, Montana, and Tacna, Arizona, before moving to Bears Court in Platteville in 2002. Will married Laura Richardson on May 23, 1981, and acquired a large extended family as a result: stepdaughters, Bev (Nick) Johansen of Platteville; Linda Boysun of Vida, Montana; 10 step-grandchildren; numerous great and even great-great-step-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Will was preceded in death by his first wife, Jackie; brothers and sisters, Eva, Ione, Frank, Flossie, Fred, and Iowa; and a step-grandson, Francis Johansen.