John Duwayne Clayton Carr

John Duwayne Clayton Carr, age 82 of rural Hollandale died on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the Lafayette Manor in Darlington.  He was born on April 17, 1941 to Harry and Marie (Norby) Carr in Beloit.  He attended Sweet rural one room country school and graduated in 1959 from the Hononegah High School in Rockton IL.  John served in the United States Army from 1959 to 1963 during the Berlin Conflict, serving in Germany and Turkey.  After his discharge he married Mary Lee Wishop in Rockton, IL at the Rockton Methodist Church on June 12, 1965. They had three sons, Wade, Todd, and Travis. 

John and Mary bought a farm in Sauk County in Leland, WI.  That farm later became the Natural Bridge State Park.  John owned several feed mills in Barneveld, Mineral Point, Spring Green, Mazomanie, and Hollandale in the 70's and 80's.  John moved his family to Hollandale in 1979 when they started the Ben Holland Hardware store. He milked cows and enjoyed raising hogs and chickens.   John was quite the entrepreneur, usually based around agriculture and eventually trucking agricultural products.  He also ran a moving and furniture delivery service with all his boys.  He was a visionary in agriculture, being very politically active and had good foresight for agricultural future and trends.  Part of his farming business was selling his products at the Dane County Farmer's Market, being a strong believer in farm to table.  He wore a chicken hat for many years to help market his products and bring smiles to people’s faces.  
 

In 1986, John ran for State Senate District 17.  He also served on Governor Tony Earl's Commission on Agriculture board, demonstrating his love for political issues, and wanting to help those in the rural community.  John loved his family and getting together for holidays and birthday parties.  The grandkids have fond memories of playing old maid and Chinese checkers where he was always caught cheating,,,just to get the kids to laugh and yell GRANDPA!  He loved people and made friends everywhere he went.  He often offered friends jobs on the farm or had them help at the farmers market.  You could tell he was genuinely interested in a person and loved to hear their story. He always had a way to bring joy to others and leave them laughing.  John also had a sweet tooth.  He loved diet cherry Pepsi, lemon poppy seed muffins, and always had ice cream on hand for him and all the grandkids.  John also enjoyed taking the grandkids to shop for fireworks for the 4th of July. The family spent many years enjoying the hundreds of dollars he spent on the "Big Boomers".  John loved to read and always read up on the latest news and couldn't get enough of learning about something new.  He would read National Geographic, Successful Farming and also wrote his own poems over the years. He was a happy and gregarious man who loved sharing his knowledge with friends and family. He will be missed.

John is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary Lee of Hollandale; three sons, Wade on the family farm, Hollandale, Todd (Amy) Carr of Hollandale, and Travis Carr of Dodgeville; seven grandchildren: Caleb, Valerie, Sophie, Hunter, Abigail, Brielle and Jacob; two sisters, Mary (Richard) Reedy of Granbury, Texas and Kathy (Terry) Easton of Brandon, South Dakota; and Several nieces and nephews and their children.

A celebration of Life for John will be held on August 20, 2023 from 1PM-4PM at the Hollandale Legion building-Village Hall. in lieu of flowers donations could be made to the Hollandale Legion.  Saether Funeral Service of Blanchardville is assisting with the family.  Online memories and condolences can be shared with the family at www.saetherfuneralservice.com

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