Oliver “Joe” La Palm, age 71, of West Salem, WI, formerly of Appleton, WI, passed away Friday, May 26, 2017 at William S. Middleton Memorial Veteran’s Hospital in Madison, WI due to complications related to congestive heart failure. He was born in the backseat of a 1939 Ford on January 22, 1946 in Escanaba, the son of Norman and Lorraine La Palm, ruining his mother’s brand-new winter coat in the process. He served in the U.S. Army for eight years, including serving in Vietnam, obtaining the rank of Staff Sargent E6 with five years T1G. He married Bonnie (Larson) La Palm on June 9, 1973, moving to Appleton in 1989. Oliver graduated from Bay College in 1975 and worked as a CAD draftsman for several years. He was a collector and designer, boasting an impressive collection of music and model cars, as well as a model train set and an accompanying Lego village that he designed and built himself.

Oliver “Joe” La Palm is survived by his three daughters, Cheryl (Josh) Weber, Jaime La Palm, and Kimberly La Palm; grandchildren, Calvin, Evelyn, and Lydia Weber; siblings, Duaine La Palm, Norma Mileski, Noreen Corwin, Norman La Palm, Roxanne Frossard, and Ronald La Palm; several nieces and nephews; and his four-legged best friends, Murray, Sparkles, and Eddie Blue.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie.

Visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Sunday, June 4, 2017 at the Anderson Funeral Home in Gladstone. Military honors will be conducted at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, in the Anderson Funeral Home Chapel by the Delta County Veteran’s Council. Funeral services celebrating the life of Oliver will follow at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, in the Anderson Funeral Home Chapel with Father Emmett Nordin . Burial will take place in Southern Wisconsin Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove, WI. 

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