Lavern “Lefty” Mayer

LaVern “Lefty” Henry Mayer, 97, Oconto Falls, died Thursday morning, October 24, 2024, surrounded by family.  He was born Nov. 15, 1926 in the town of Advance, Shawano County, to Herman and Nora (Werner) Mayer. He grew up in Morgan and attended South Morgan School and graduated from Oconto Falls High School with the class of 1944.  Following graduation, he worked in the family owned cheese factory with his father and also helped farmers.  In 1946, he went to Florida to a baseball school and also worked in an orange and grapefruit factory. He played pro baseball in Frostproff Deland, Palatka and Lakeland from 1947-1950.

On Oct. 14, 1950, he married Marilyn Delzer and they lived in Oconto Falls. Lefty worked as a cheesemaker at the Morgan Coop.  He played semi-pro baseball for the Marinette Marines and also on Sundays for a Green Valley team. In 1953, he went back to play pro baseball. He played in St. Petersburg, FL, Charleston, S.C. and Raleigh N.C. While at Charleston, he played against Hank Aaron when he was with Jacksonville. He broke his leg while playing for Raleigh and that was the end of his pro career.  In 1959, he and his wife bought Sankey Dairy in Oconto Falls and bottled milk and made home deliveries in Oconto Falls and surrounding communities. Bottling was done until 1968 and he then became a distributor for Morning Dairy until 1989 and continued to work for his son-in-law delivering until 1996.  He worked at a convenience store and gas station until Dec. 2017.  Lefty coached Babe Ruth baseball teams from 1963-1976 and in 1966, he helped start the Legion Baseball team and coached it until 1981.  In 1975, he was elected to be the North Team Coach for the Wisconsin American Legion All Stars held in County Stadium in Milwaukee. Lefty was on the Board of Director of the Blue Ribbons Baseball team in Green Bay from 1981-83.  In September of 2009, Lefty was elected into the Wall of Fame at Oconto Falls High School.  He was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church where he held various positions on the Church Council from 1957-2006, including being president for a number of years.  He served on the Church Building Committee from 1975-77.

He is survived by his wife of 74 years, 3 sons and 1 daughter, Leland (Anna) Mayer, Eau Claire; Lawrence (Anne Wallis) Mayer, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; James (Mary Jo) Mayer, Oconomowoc, WI; Debra (Allan) Konitzer, Oconto Falls;  Grandchildren, Kari (Jason) Fleming, Burke, VA., Marc (Jenna) Mayer, Eau Claire, WI, Cory Mayer, Marquette, MI, Lutetia (Skye) Wallis/Mayer Smith, Squamish, B. C., Canada, Tristan Wallis/Mayer, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Imogen Wallis/Mayer, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Emily (Conner) McCarthy, Benjamin Mayer, and Megan Mayer, all of Minneapolis, MN;  Abigail (Mike) Montie and Samuel (Liz) Konitzer, all of Oconto Falls,  great grandchildren, Brandon and Samantha Fleming, Burke, VA; Calvin  and Wesley Mayer, Eau Claire, WI; Georgia and Michael Montie, Oconto Falls, WI; Aurora Smith, Squamish, BC, Rylann McCarthy, Minneapolis, MN,  1 brother, Charles Mayer, CA; 1 sister, Dolores Winter, Little Suamico; 2 sisters-in-law, Mae (Byron) Aprill, Pulaski, and Romelle Delzer, Oconto Falls, 1 brother-in-law, William (Donna) Delzer; many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, parents-in law, William and Elsie Delzer; brothers-in-law, Kenneth Delzer, Otis Delzer, Robert Delzer, Eugene Winter, and 1 sister-in-law Virgene Delzer, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Harold and Helen Black and 1 grandson, George William Konitzer.

Visitation will be held 3:00 until 6:00 PM Saturday, October 26, 2024 at Jones Funeral Service in Oconto Falls.  Visitation will continue after 2:00 PM Sunday, October 27, 2024 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Abrams until the time of services at 4:00 PM Sunday with the Rev. Matthew Stuebs officiating.