Born to life, June 7, 1937. Born to Eternal Life, August 19, 2015, at the age of 78. Wes was the best friend and beloved husband for 35 years of Karen (nee Mente) Fields, within whose arms he peacefully passed, following a fifteen year battle against many serious ailments. Cherished father of Kelly (Bob) Young and proud grandfather of Tara and Nicole Young (Illinois). Father of Mike Fields (Florida). Baby brother of Elvin Fields (Michigan) and Ann Rich (Arkansas). Preceded in death by parents, Elvin and Bertha (nee Schmidt) Fields, and siblings John, Betty, and Ida. Treasured brother-in-law of Marilyn (nee Mente) and the late Manfred Fees (Germany). Favorite uncle of Mike and Carsten Fees (Germany). Also survived by other nieces, nephews, and friends, across the US and in Germany.
Wes was born in Long Prairie, Minnesota, the youngest of six children born to Elvin and Bertha Fields. He was raised in Detroit, Michigan. Wes attended trade and technical schooling, where he designed patterns that were subsequently published in text books. Wes went on to honorably serve on active duty and in the reserves of the US Air Force. He was stationed at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where he received the National Defense Service Medal.
Following his service in the Air Force, Wes relocated to Milwaukee, where his parents then resided. Possessing exceptional visual and technical skills, but with little money and mounting debt, Wes embarked on a successful, fifty-year career in the hairdressing business. During his career in hairdressing, Wes taught himself the printing business, owning and operating Dynamic Publications located on Locust Avenue. Wes also owned and operated the Ship Store at Ken Olsen's Marina, along with two friends.
Despite forays in other businesses, hairdressing remained a constant. After working a short time at Marshall Field's and in Elm Grove, Wes realized he needed to own his own business in order to advance his career. Having spent the majority of his capital on his own salon, Wes started out business with a loan from a local beauty supplier, Forest Labs, just so he could have enough money in the till to start his first day. Wes initially owned and operated Maria's on Lisbon Avenue. He followed with The Beauty Shop by Mr. Wes in Bayshore Mall and at the intersection of Prospect and North Avenue, where many Saint Mary's Hospital nurses became his clients. Wes later opened the Hair Factory on Oakland Avenue and established the first and unconventional-for-the-time unisex salon, located within UWM's student union. This new type of salon was the subject of several newspaper articles in the 1970's. The Hair Factory famously sponsored many Frisbee contests at UWM and it was not unusual to see Hair Factory Frisbees all around campus. Wes met his wife, Karen, at the UWM salon, when she was attending graduate school. After marriage, Wes sold his UWM salon and relocated the Hair Factory to the Downer Avenue business district. Wes later purchased M'Lord M'Lady in Brookfield and on Appleton Avenue, eventually selling them after encountering his first major health crisis.
While hairdressing was his vocation, Wes was known and admired for his avocations. He was a master, self-taught craftsman and jack-of-all-trades. There were no mechanical, electrical, plumbing, construction or carpentry tasks that Wes didn't tackle. Wes never had an idle moment, until Parkinson Disease robbed him of his movement.
Wes obtained his private pilot's license, thus allowing him to fly to Wheeler on weekends, where he remodeled his first farmhouse. Wes enjoyed restoring vintage cars, both domestic and foreign. His greatest restoration was a 1928, Ford, Model A business coupe that was delivered on a flatbed truck, along with thirty-two bushel baskets of assorted parts and a bullet hole in the door. Wes could visualize, remember, and transform almost anything. After he and Karen purchased their eastside home, Wes restored the knotty pine study to original cherry, using rough cut lumber, delivered from Nina, fashioning his own patterns to match original moldings. Milling his own wood, Wes went on to complete cabinetry, furniture and grandfather clocks. Possessing an almost photographic memory, Wes fully restored and refinished several antique, reproducing electric player baby grand pianos, using information recalled from articles read months before and knowledge gleaned from a local expert, Arnold Neuhaus, from whom he bought parts and supplies. Arnold was so impressed with Wes' skills that he later sought Wes' advice about a complicated, problematic restoration.
Wes' friends and family often benefited from the fruits of his other hobbies. Wes enjoyed photography and created his own darkroom. He developed his own pictures, using his Bessler enlarger and learning how to recreate sepia-toned, textured prints for family and friends to adorn their walls. Friends were often treated to Wes' homemade brew, wine made from wild and his own cultivated grapes, and honey extracted from his own beehives, located on his current farm outside of West Bend. Wes and Karen enjoyed cruising Lake Michigan on their Morgan Out-Island Sailboat, especially their annual Fourth of July junkets across the pond to Saugatuck, Michigan. While Karen baked in the galley, Wes invariably wound up in some stranger's bilge fixing engine problems. When he wasn't busy fixing things or snow-blowing neighbors' sidewalks, Wes enjoyed building and flying radio controlled airplanes and crafting replicas of famous sailing ships.
Wes' several illnesses slowed him down but never stopped him from creating, repairing, or restoring. He never gave up but Parkinson Disease and infections eventually robbed him of his strength, vitality and movement. Eventually the man, who so willingly offered up his time and energy to anyone in need, became dependent upon others and it broke his heart. His wife, Karen, could not have helped Wes fight his long battle alone, without the unrequested, loving and generous support of the angels in their lives, here on earth.
Karen will be forever grateful to Dr. Barry Gimbel, who unfailingly provided medical care and was always immediately available for consult, and emotional and moral support, throughout Wes' fifteen year journey toward his final destination in heaven. If Wes is busy repairing the pearly gates or some chariot when God calls you to His home, I'm certain he'll put down his hammer, greeting you with outstretched hands and arms, no longer contracted by disease. A special thank-you also goes out to Dr. Gimbel's patient and caring nurses, Janet and Anna.
Karen and Wes could never have maintained their farm without the careful stewardship of Mark Haack and the judicious farming by Irv Lepp. Karen's neighborhood guardian angels, who never failed to lend support and to whom Karen will be forever grateful, include Jim and Aggie Stearns, Dr. Ellen Blank, Peter and Thea Kovac, Kathleen Springer, Bunky Schwartz, and Jerry Hanis. A very special thank you goes out to Jim Stearns, the only man who not only knew what Wes' tools were, but also used them or his own tools maintaining the house and cars, not to mention all the snow-blowing. More importantly, Karen wishes to thank these guardian angels for continuing to respect the man Wes was and treating him with dignity, as his body succumbed to his many ailments. Throughout this long journey, Karen could not have continued working without the genuine support and understanding of her colleagues and administrators at Franklin Public Schools. Karen also wishes to express her profound gratitude for the loving care Wes received by the nurses and aides at Lawlis Family Hospice, specifically Carol, Laura, Gina and Erin. Karen is most grateful to God for returning her beloved Wes to the privacy of their cherished earthly home to spend his remaining days with her, before traveling on to his eternal home with God.
Visitation at the Funeral Home Wednesday, August 26 from 10:00 AM to 12:45 PM. Funeral Service at 1:00 PM. Private Interment Wisconsin Memorial Park.
Farewell, my sweet prince. Through my sorrow and pain, I find comfort in knowing you are whole again and free from pain. As I cast my eyes toward heaven, every patch of blue reminds me of your amazing eyes, now watching over, guiding, and protecting me from above. You taught me well, but loved me more, and this helps ease my pain, sustaining me until we are, once again, together in each other's arms. Auf Wiedersehen, Schatz.
