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Last week the Cochrane-Fountain City FFA club penned Joe Greshik a thank you note after they learned he had without fanfare made a significant contribution to their club.
That quiet philanthropy is just one of the multitude of reasons people far and wide are mourning the death of Fountain City farmer Joseph Greshik, 68, who passed away November 21 from natural causes while hunting on his land in rural Fountain City.
Greshik’s death is a blow to more than just his family and friends, longtime friend Gary Evans said. It is a blow to a region that benefited for decades from his thoughtful leadership, his devotion to causes, and his willingness to be involved.
Greshik, born in Arcadia in 1941 and a graduate of CFC High School in 1959, was a week from his 45th wedding anniversary to Joan, his college sweetheart and mother of his six children.
Together they had built a life in the Cochrane-Fountain City area on Greshik Farms, where Joe turned his animal science and biochemistry degrees into agricultural brilliance.
Greshik Farms gained respect in the region and across Wisconsin thanks to Joe’s innovative techniques and conservation efforts. A passionate turkey and deer hunter, Greshik led by example in the conservation and habitat preservation of his own land, earning him the Outstanding Land Stewardship Award from the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, among other recognitions.
Evans, who is a pallbearer and will deliver Greshik’s eulogy Saturday, said speaking with a representative from one of Greshik’s hunting associations gave him the bigger picture of how Greshik will be missed. “He told me there is a whole county and state mourning him,” Evans said.
But that mourning starts here with the people from all walks who encountered Greshik and considered him a friend, a colleague, or a cornerstone of their organization.
“He did so many things for so many people,” Evans said. “When he met people he spoke their language, that was how he connected to people.”
Evans and Greshik grew up down the river from each other, one in Alma, the other in Fountain City. They crossed paths occasionally on the basketball court, but didn’t know each other well.
In 1997, another longtime friend of Greshik’s, Roger Metz, opened a door that would bring the pair back into contact again.
Metz, the soon retiring Community Memorial Hospital administrator, was asked for a nomination for the hospital board, someone from the Wisconsin side of the river to represent the customer base there.
Greshik immediately came to mind, Metz said, because he had raised a family alongside Joe and Joanie since 1966. “It was his concern about others. He was one I knew would do the job and not come in with any hidden agendas,” Metz said.
With memberships in the Masonic Lodge, the Shriners, the Lions Club, the Farm Bureau, the Farmers Union, the Friends of Prairie Moon, bank boards and more, Greshik earned a reputation over his lifetime of being the guy everyone wanted on their team.
“He really put himself into the things he got involved in,” Metz said.
For Evans and Greshik, their friendship grew fast and strong working together on the hospital’s board.
In what Evans called a meteoric rise, by 2003 Greshik was sitting on the executive board as the director of the finance and audit committee. “He was uncommonly talented. He had an ability to grasp things that most of us are not able to,” Evans said. “He is what you would call a quick study. When Joe tackled an issue it didn’t take very long before he was considered an expert. I wish I had that.”
The men, both early risers, would often talk about all sorts of things at 6 a.m. Those conversations left Evans with the distinct impression that Greshik was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant people he’d ever known.
Delivering his eulogy, Evans said, will be tough. “I haven’t been through it yet without going to pieces,” he admitted. “I’m not sure how it’s going to go.”
But tough as it will be, Evans feels it is a eulogy his friend deserves. “Put succinctly, he was the smartest, neatest guy I’ve ever known,” Evans said. “He was absolutely special. I will always be better for having known him. It’s devastating that he’s taking a different track far too soon. He’s earned every nice thing I’ve ever said about him.”
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