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Julian John (JJ) Ellefson
August 30, 1944 - November 11, 2019
Julian was welcomed home peacefully, surrounded by his loving family on November 11, 2019. Julian fought a strong and courageous battle with cancer and can now be at peace enjoying Italian food, fishing, golfing, and playing Washington Island Wahoo.
Julian married Karen Zbikowski on November 2, 1968 and celebrated 51 years together in love. Julian was a proud father to Kirsten (Ellefson) and Jody Foyles of Southern Pines, NC and Lindsay (Ellefson) and Joe Haas of Sussex, WI and six beloved grandchildren: Keegan, Kayden, and Lauren Foyles, and JJ, Gabrielle, and Eleanore Haas. He was also survived by his brother, Mark F. Ellefson (Caprice) of Boscobel, WI and will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him.
Julian was preceded in death by his father, Julian M. Ellefson, his mother, Jenny (Pagliaroni) Ellefson, sister, Sandy (Ellefson) Freehoff, and his half-sister, Norma Krok.
Julian was an avid golfer and member of the Nagawaukee Men's Golf Club and enjoyed frequent trips to play in Pinehurst, NC. He was a 1967 graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison and remained a devoted Badger fan, never missing a game. Julian loved his family and enjoyed sharing many life skills with his children and grandchildren, including how to play Washington Island Wahoo "the right way", how to properly apply band-aids, and how to maintain safety standards in any and every situation.
The Ellefson family would like to thank the doctors and staff of Froedtert's TICU who were so kind and caring throughout Julian's journey. As an organ recipient, the family would like to acknowledge the precious gift of life and encourage others to consider organ donation.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to support the Organ Transplant Program can be made to the Medical College of Wisconsin, Attn: Office of Development, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, PO Box 26509, Milwaukee, WI 53226. Memorial gifts may also be made online at www.mcw.edu/giving.
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Carol Klitzke (Schlevensky)
The Ellefson’s daughters and their families honored Karen and Julian with a paver for their 50th wedding anniversary on the Memorial Union terrace at UW-Madison. They never had the chance to see this before Julian passed. We were able to locate the paver today and per Karen’s request we are sharing this photo as a memorial to Julian!
Julian passed away on Nov. 11,2019. This was submitted by Dave Starr. Thank you Dave.
Jeffrey Williams
Julian or " Ace" as he was known for the last 40 years was my friend since we were sophomores at KHS. His wife Karen and I have known each other for almost as long. I was in his wedding and we spent many, many good times fishing, hunting but mostly playing golf. I hadn't seen much of him for the past year due to his struggles with cancer so our contact was by phone. Julian had a wonderful family and was a special friend. I'll miss him but always remember that whenever we were together we had a blast.
Nicholas Angotti
Jules, so many years; since McKinely. I'm lost for words, just remembering your quite strength.
Rest in Peace, my friend