Rev. Edward Wihowski

Edward Wihowski was born to Eternal Life on Monday, January 12th, 2026, at the age of 93. He was the loving and devoted husband of Irene for 64 years. Irene preceded him in death in 2022. Beloved father of David, Dan (Melissa) and Linda. Proud and loving grandfather of Jessica (Sam), Vania (Falcon), Nicole, Tiffany (Matthew), Johnathan and great grandfather of Brooklyn, Amina, Samara, and Sparrow.

He was preceded in death by his parents Theodore and Wilhelmina, and his siblings Erich, Klara and Marta.

Edward Wihowski was born in 1932 under the harsh Stalinist regime in a tiny town in the Ukraine–which at that time was part of the Soviet Union. Life under communism was ponderous with the immense tax burden and restrictions the party imposed.

Edward’s father was taken away at gunpoint by the communists when he was five years old. Surviving on their tiny farm was difficult before his father was taken, but became so grueling afterwards that their mother had no choice but to work on the government-run collective farm, leaving five-year old Edward to care for his little sister every day until his older siblings got home from school.

QqIn 1941 German forces invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa and all hell broke loose.

During WWII family members lost all of their belongings twice due to bombings. They were forced to move many times due to shifts in the battle front. The sounds of marching soldiers, rumbling tanks, gunfire, grenades and bombs became a regular part of life.

Beginning in 1943, they were forced to retreat as the Allied Forces pushed the Germans back through Poland. One time, when their family, along with several other refugee families, was taking shelter in a barn, they were attacked by machine gun fire and many of the people in the barn were killed. There were many other narrow escapes as well, but there are too many to tell.

Eventually the Wihowski family retreated into what later became West Germany, having walked around 1000 miles on foot. During this entire ordeal their mother, who had become a Christian while they had still been in the Soviet Union, had prayed diligently for God’s protection over her family. In 1944 they were blessed to be housed in a small two-room apartment of a large brick house in the tiny village of Ochsendorf, Germany.

As the war came to a close, life did not become much easier. The German economy was racked with out-of-control inflation and massive food shortages. Edward remembers that most of the paper money was so worthless that it was more valuable as tinder to start a fire. The enterprising and diligent family, however, found ways to survive. My father recalls that there were a number of times that dinner was a bowl of soup made with a few potatoes and foraged weeds.

During their stay in Germany, Edward became a Christian at the age of 16. Since many of the churches had closed due to loss of pastors and congregation during the war, Edward soon became involved in home Bible studies and prayer meetings. To participate in these meetings, he would often travel several miles on a bicycle he had cobbled together from parts he found in junk heaps.

In October of 1951, when Edward was 19, he, his mother and sister boarded a ship headed for the United States. Once in Milwaukee, Edward immediately started working, finding his first job with the help of his brother-in-law Alex, who had come to America earlier. Edward worked a number of different day jobs for the next few years while he attended night school to get his GED. At one point, he began to work as an apprentice in a tool and die shop. With his German knack for precision, this seemed to be a perfect match.

He remained very involved in church in Milwaukee, and felt a call to become a pastor. When he had only been in America for 4 years he packed up and moved to Minneapolis to go to college to become a minister. While there he met Irene Osterlund, who later became his wife. While he was studying to become a minister, he also worked as a tool and die maker and finished citizenship classes and became a citizen.

After graduating college, Edward felt a call to become the pastor of a tiny church in Mayville, WI. The congregation of 35, on a good Sunday, was meeting in an old storefront. Edward felt led to spearhead the building of a new church which the tiny congregation very reluctantly agreed to. Within several years of diligent saving, they had enough to approach the bank and ask for a loan to build a new church.

After the church was built and the congregation had grown substantially, Edward and family moved on to Berlin, Wisconsin, and eventually on to Escanaba, Michigan. In Escanaba, the church Edward was pastoring was meeting in a very old and small building in a rundown section of the city. Edward again felt the call to build a new church and again the congregation was somewhat reluctant. With Edward’s continued encouragement and some diligent savings, they produced a building fund and were able to proceed with creating a beautiful new structure. This time around, most of the construction was done by Edward and many of the congregation members.

After retiring from full-time ministry, Edward ended up back in Milwaukee. Edward continued working in tool and die, but continued his involvement at church, teaching Sunday school, working with senior citizens or filling in for absent pastors at some of the local congregations.

At the age of 69, he embarked on his last big building project: his retirement home in Hales Corners. He did much of the construction by himself and with help of family members and some sub-contractors. It took over two years to complete, but he was always proud of this achievement in his golden years.

Over the years of their married life, Eddy and his wife, Irene, were generous to the needy even when they themselves were not well off. They were always gracious hosts to frequent gatherings in their home, and loved doing things with their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. They almost always maintained a large garden, freezing and canning much of what they grew. Eddy was very fond of growing roses, especially large red hybrid tea roses.

Though Ed was not an avid fisherman, he liked to go on several fishing excursions every year, and they were almost always quite productive.

Ed was frequently called on throughout his life as a Mr. Fix-it by friends, neighbors and family—there were not many things that Eddy could not fix. He frequently called himself a jack of all trades but master of none (despite the fact that he actually was a master tool & die maker).

Edward will be greatly missed.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”

Psalm 91:1-4

Visitation will take place on Thursday, January 29, 2026 from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM with a Service to begin at 5:00 PM at Poplar Creek Church, 17770 West Cleveland Avenue, New Berlin, Wisconsin. Refreshments will be served after the funeral in the cafe adjacent to the sanctuary.

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