Richard R.”Dick” Camlek, 80, of Black River Falls, WI passed away peacefully at his home on
April 20.
Born August 8, 1945 and raised in the tiny town of Beaver, WI, “Richie” would play his
accordion in local taverns starting around age 8. Attending Coleman High School,he honed his
skills at baseball, basketball, track, and several musical instruments. “Rich” and his lifelong
friends Ralph and Charlie formed an old-time music band “The Tri-Lites” during those high
school years and were part of enough hilarious and harrowing adventures to fill a book or tv
series.
In 1963, “Rich” graduated high school and decided that working in a factory was not his career
goal, so he enrolled at UW-Superior in the music education program. He often remarked that he
should have been granted some sort of advanced degree for bartending on the Lake Superior
shipping docks and for surviving winters in Superior which lasted 360 of the 365 days per year.
It was at UW-Superior that Richard met Rosalyn Lewis. They married in 1967 and moved to
Black River Falls where he started his Jr. High/Middle School band teaching career. Thousands
of Black River Falls music students from 1967-2000 can recall Mr. Camlek’s one-liners and
phrases. “Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and drive-in movies!” was just one
response he would give the school band students when they thought they were close enough to
getting a song ready for a concert.
In May of 1985 Dick and Kathy were married. “Dick” was a true family man and thoroughly
enjoyed sharing his many interests. Camlek family gatherings almost always involved playing
polkas, baseball, fishing, hunting, and sharing a cold one. His taste in higher priced beer seemed
to improve immensely once Dan, Tim, Todd, and Amy moved out. Central a/c (instead of small
oscillating fans), a riding lawn mower (instead of $5 push mowers that caught fire), a power ice
auger (instead of an always dull spoon auger), and a paved driveway were just a few of the
luxuries purchased for the empty nest.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents, William and Lillian (Carlson) Camlek.
He is survived by his wife Kathy, children Tim (Shannon) Camlek and Todd Camlek. Dan
(Diane) Schnick and Amy Schnick (David West). Grandchildren Emma Camlek, Connor
Camlek, Nora Camlek, Corey Camlek, Aaron Camlek, Liam Schnick, Austen Morales, Asher
Morales, and Lily Nichols. Brother Ken (Margaret) Camlek.
Thank you to St. Croix hospice for their kind care. Stokes, Prock, and Mundt Crematory in
Altoona handled final arrangements. In lieu of a service/visitation the family has requested that
you play a polka, raise a glass and loudly proclaim “na zdravje!” (nah-STRO-vee-ah) in
Slovenian.
Any monetary donations should be made to The Black River Falls Community Band
http://www.bracband.org and/or the Black River Falls Evangelical Lutheran Church
http://www.brgelc.org
“Ya done good!” Dick Camlek…Ya done good!
Cremation Society of Wisconsin, Altoona is assisting the family. Online condolences may be
shared at http://www.cremationsociety-wi.com.
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