Badger Midget Driver, Owner,
Official Dahlke dies at 61
By
Bryan Gapinski, Ripon, Wis., Feb. 19
Former
Badger Midget Series driver, car owner and officer
William “Butch” C. Dahlke, age 61, passed away on
Tuesday, at The Ripon Medical Center after a short
battle with cancer.
Dahlke first competed in the series as a driver in 1980
and continued full-time for around a dozen years before
fielding entries as a car owner until the conclusion of
the 2006 season. Dahlke scored his only midget feature
victory as a driver at Davenport, Iowa. During his time
as car owner he scored feature victories with Kevin Koch
and Aaron Fiscus. Other drivers who drove for Dahlke
include: Brad Kuhn, Brad Weber, Kevin Thomas, BJ Dahlke,
Doug Schenck, Nick Lundgreen, Dick Kaiser, Brian Claas,
Mark Zabel, Rich Giertz, and Joe Wipperfurth to name a
few.
Dahlke was elected president of the Badger Midget Auto
Racing Association in fall of 1990, and ended serving
thirteen one-year terms in the capacity over the next
fifteen years, the most in the organizations 72-year
history.
Dahlke was born on October 1, 1946, in Ripon, the son of
William J. and Winnifred J. (Johnson) Dahlke. He
attended Ripon High School, and in July of 1967, married
Linda L. Nitz in Berlin. Butch was a master mechanic who
owned and operated both Butch’s Enterprises LLC., and
Butch’s Engines and Frames. He was a member of Masters
Motorcycle Club.
Survivors include his wife, Linda; son, BJ (special
friend Melissa Atkinson); daughter, Vicky Trimble;
grandchildren, Katie Koseck and Madelyne Atkinson; and
his sister, Barbara. Butch was preceded in death by his
parents.
Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. on
Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Butzin-Marchant Funeral Home in
Ripon, followed by a Memorial service at 1:00 p.m.
Internment will take place at a later date. A memorial
has been established.
Butzin-Marchant Funeral Home
Oshkosh & Mayparty Dr Box 371
Ripon, WI 54971
Click Here for the Funeral Home web site.
Click Here to read Butch's Obituary.
