William (Bill) Francis Lange
Read by Joel Lange at the memorial service on the 29th of October 2026 at
St Francis of Assisi, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
As I’ve reflected on my Dad’s life, two key themes come to mind.
First, my Dad, like many of us, was on a life long quest to find meaning and truth
in a troubled world. The troubled world of his childhood home life and the injustices that he found as
he came of age.
Second, I believe he was striving to understand what it means to be a good man.
In the end my Dad did find meaning and truth and it can be summed up in one
word. LOVE.
And through his journey NOT only did he find out what it means to be a good
man, he set an example for his children and grandchildren. The Journey as my brother put it in Dad’s
obituary, he was “raised by a village of Lange’s”.
He was born on the 18th of March 1935 to Mary Kennelly and Bud Lange.
Although he loved and spent time with his mothers family, the Kenelly’s, Dad was
closer to his father’s family and was partially raised by his paternal grandparents
Muner and Pa and his aunts and his uncles.
They were his early role models, particularly Helen and Jerry and Jean and Joe.
At 18 he left Chicago to come to Milwaukee and Marquette, the first male Lange
to go to college.
In Milwaukee he enjoyed playing golf with Francis McNabb, his uncle, who would
become his step-father and Mac, his cousin, who would later become his step
brother.
Francis was a man who Dad admired and who he cared for later in life.
After graduating, there was his brief spell in the US Military and after his father’s
passing followed Francis into the paper industry.
Then he joined the Studium on the path to becoming a priest, having a stint in
Bolivia, where he briefly met Mom.
He returned to the US, was ordained as a priest and then returned to Bolivia
where Mom remembered him and invited him to help with her school.
They fell in love and eventually they left the church and got married. There was
the birth of Dori in Bolivia and the return to the US and the birth of Dave and
myself here in Milwaukee.
There was further study and work, advocacy in the union, his founding of the
Faith Community for Worker Justice and his work with Voces de la Frontera.
Along the way Dad showed the Man he was becoming and the Man he would be.
A spiritual man, an activist, a sportsman, a funny man and a family man.
Spiritual Man
In the Catholic church we talk about vocation and I do believe his vocation was
as a spiritual leader.
He practiced that as a priest, but also thereafter in everything he did. Dad was
passionate about people.
He believed in the rights of all people and particularly the poor.
He often quoted Rerum Novarum, the social encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII
as a basis for his arguments on those rights.
These beliefs were rooted in his work in the church, in the union, the labor
council and the charities he founded and then also participated in.
They were also rooted in his education. He read and studied everything.
He was also a student of people themselves and the insights they could bring to
foster discussion and personal growth.
I remember him leading adult education at St. Michael's in Milwaukee and bringing
in speakers from mayor Frank Zeidler to Hank Raymonds the basketball legend.
He was about community.
There is an article in the Milwaukee Business Journal from 1997 about Dad and
his work with the unions and his fight for workers rights and social justice.
In the last paragraph of the article there is a quote from him saying “I don’t want
to give anyone the impression it’s labor vs business, or labor and the church vs
business....That’s not what I’m about. I’m about.....promoting community”.
He was an incredible writer and loved to make contributions to the Westside
news or write letters and articles for the various Catholic publications. Later on in
life he began to write a blog, which is a cherished source of his musings.
An Activist
While at Briggs he was active in the Union and in the 1990’s in the midst of
NAFTA and the movement of jobs out of Wisconsin he called on the community,
Catholics and politicians to act to save Wisconsin jobs.
He often personally called out Catholics in Briggs management, in publications
like the National Catholic Reporter, for failing to act.
He was not afraid to speak truth to power whether that was in confrontation with
Briggs bosses or major politicians.
Often his protest was subtle though and showed his humor. When bosses
allowed the workers on the Briggs assembly line to pick their own nickname he
chose that of Nicaraguan revolutionary Sandino. His picture with the nametag
made it into the Briggs annual report. This is also available to see in the back of
the room.
Once he was free of Briggs he was able to increase his level of activism in
protests he participated in with Voces de la Frontera or other groups.
He made many trips to protest against the School of the Americas in Georgia.
Just to read a quote from his blog from June 2011 when my parents attended a
Voces protest in Madison, Dad writes:
“After the protestors were removed, the meeting began again in earnest. Another
protestor stood up, removed her jacket and read a statement advocating instate
tuition. She was removed. Then one by one about 30 of us followed the same
tactic.
As I was carried out our son David called on the cell phone. Joanne answered
and said in a whisper, “I can’t talk, Dad is being arrested,” then hung up. On the
way home we called Dave and explained.”
Sportsman
So I think we’ve established that Bill was passionate, political and pugnacious.
Aside from all this he also loved sports.
Golf was also a passion and he told many stories of growing up caddying at the
Oak Park Country Club.
He would coordinate an annual family golf outing, which gave him the opportunity
to play with his brothers and have a shot at beating his uncle Joe.
With Baseball, It has to be said that Luke Appling was his idol growing up and the
White Sox were his first love, something he shares with the most recent Pope
Leo.... the ninth.
As we grew up he began to follow and then later love the Brewers. To say he
would have enjoyed their run in the playoffs, would be an understatement. Last
night Jacob Misioroski was asked how he managed to get through the nerves of
pitching that final game. He said “Through Bill”. I think he meant Contreras, but
who knows!
Although Luke Appling was his childhood hero he also had other favorites
including his Aunt Helen, who played to a very high standard in the women’s
leagues of Chicago.
In his final days at home he enjoyed gripping his baseball and showing different
pitches. In hospice it was where he came alive watching hours of baseball with
Dave and Mom.
A Funny Man
If you knew my Dad, he loved to tell stories and jokes. In his latter years he told
them several times. Jokes about the book the Yellow River by IP Daily or the
European joke about the kid with ice in his pocket.
He had one about fireflies and Chief Wauwatosa and his teepeepee which I don’t
think any of us really understood but you can see a theme in his punchlines.
He had his own jokey language, he called the Packers the Pickers, Football
Feetball, the World Series the World Serious, Santa Claus Sandy Clause and his
doctor, whose name was Dr Holisitch.... Dr Holyshitz.
A Family Man
It doesn’t feel right to say that family was a part of Dad’s life. It was his life. Not
just the family he was born into but, of course, the family that Mom and he
created.
My mom commented that he had his own unique and special relationship with
each of his children.....Dori......Dave.....and me.
But, love was not restricted to us. His love for his mother Mary. His love for his
brothers John and Jim and cousins. His love for his uncles and his aunts. A
fellow Chicago Southsider John Prine has a song “When I get to Heaven” where
he talks about wanting to see his Mama’s sisters “because that’s where all the
love starts”.
The love started with Helen and Jean, the aunts I mentioned earlier. Whether it
was at the annual 4th of July picnic or at the Thanksgiving table, Dad enjoyed
nothing more than making those two ladies laugh. And they loved him dearly like
second and third mothers.
When Helen signed her famous baseball picture which hung alongside his
sporting heroes she wrote: “I’m the luckiest person in the world for having known
Bill”. I am sure the two of them were the first to welcome him into heaven.
Across his entire family, with his own family, with my Mom’s family, the
Neustedters, and also with his children's in-laws, his cousins, nieces and
nephews and always with his grandchildren he was always interested in people.
What they were doing, where they were studying, were they playing sports or
doing art or music. What were their passions. He loved catching up with
everyone.
Many friends have mentioned this and how he would chat with you from his
perch in the breakfast nook in the kitchen or calling from his desk in the sunroom
of our house on 73rd Street. Always up for a philosophical, political, sporting
discussion or just to tell you a joke.
I mentioned at the beginning the two themes that emerged as I wrote this
remembrance.
That Dad was on a journey in his life to find meaning and truth.
He found that in finding LOVE....First and foremost with my Mom.
Last year I texted him to ask what had led him to join the Priesthood. Something
I had always wondered about.
His response came in a text via Mom
(he leveraged Mom for texting and my Mom leveraged Dad for Facebook. This is
another good example of a solid marriage)
His reply said:
“I thought Kennedy was the answer, I thought the ethics of Joe and Francis
was the answer, I thought the rationalism of Dominican philosophy and
theology was the answer. But I did find the answer. Love.”
When we celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, I asked Dad why he married
Mom and left the church.
He said that “we concluded that we could do more for social justice as a
married couple than in the church”.
This was a noble answer and although true.....it masks the true love that they
have for each other.
Last year on his 90th birthday, he credited his longevity to his “beloved Jojo”.
That was the Love he found with Mom and with that Love he transformed the
lives of others.
As Mom said on his death bed, “he helped us all to be better”.
For every one of his children as well as his grandchildren Dad wrote a memo in
his bible on the day of their birth.
These were often full of scripture, sometimes poems and full of love and
inspiration.
They were filled with his hopes for his children and grandchildren and the world
they would encounter.
The entries for Dori and Dave are written in Spanish as at that time that’s where
his brain was wired.
The second reading in our service today was quoted in Dave’s entry.
Other entries reflect what he was wrestling with at the time.
Upon Liam’s birth, my Dad was going through a time when he was questioning
again what it meant to be a good man.
He wrote a poem called “Caritas” the Latin word for “Love” and the close of that
poem stated “When she nominated baby Liam Shin Rai and held him to her
heart, it was for this that she prayed.....I hope he will be a good man”.
27 years later.......... he died knowing that Liam is indeed a good man, that
Sean, Monique, Matthew, Jacob and Noah were good people as well.
He found meaning and truth in..... Love..... love of family....love of his
community......love in the pursuit of social justice.
The last 4 months have been a trying time for our family. Mom definitely did
extend his life along with Dave and Dori in their care and love for him.
It’s also important to mention the care of the nurses who looked after him as well
as the amazing friends and community that brought my parents food, said
prayers and visited frequently. Thank you!
Even as he slowly lost his faculties and endured the full hospice experience of
hard drugs and humiliation he found joy and love in his joking around with Dave
aka Segundo, singing songs with Jojo and having cuddles with Dori aka Primero.
As Dave noted in his Facebook post, Dad’s brain again was wired to Spanish in
his last days. The last time I saw him alive he had asked the nurse to see “the
boys”. I came over immediately and he said “Tienes que quedarte conmigo” or in
English “You need to stay with me”.
In July on one of my visits, I read a letter to my Dad that I had written for him.
I will close with an excerpt to the end of that letter.
“Dad, the love I see here all around you is incredible. The love you had for your
Mom Mary, our Mom, your children and grandchildren. You and Mom have
taught us how to love through your love.
Dad, all of the things above you know. I also know you know that I love you. But,
I want you to know though, how much I have always admired you, how you have
never let me down in any way and that you are an amazing Dad.
When I was born you wrote “Joel Esta” in a tribute in your bible.
And you quoted the prophet Joel saying
“I will pour out my spirit on all mankind. Your young men shall see visions. Your
old men shall dream dreams. All who call on the name of the lord will be saved”.
I’ll see you in my dreams if not sooner, Dad. And yes “Joel Esta”.
