John "Butch" Melvin Volk

Service Details

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 at 11:00 am in St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church (6400 Spring Street Racine, WI  53406) with Fr. Thomas Vathappallil, MCBS officiating. Military honors and a luncheon will follow.

Visitation will be in Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home on Monday evening, July 7^th, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm and in the church on Tuesday from 10-11 am. Private interment will take place at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

Memorial Suggestions

In memory of John, memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association have been suggested.

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RACINE – John “Butch” Melvin Volk, age 84, passed away at Pleasant Point Senior Living on Friday evening, June 27, 2025, with his beloved son Jeffrey at his side, following a long & brave struggle with Alzheimer’s/dementia since 2015, along with bouts of colon and prostate cancer.

John was born in Wabeno, WI on February 28, 1941, the son of the late John Adam Volk and Alice (nee: Sickler) Volk. A graduate of Wabeno High School, he went on to attend some technical college to master his trade of telephone communications systems.  Drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict, he served his two years and was spared a front line. During his career, he was employed with Wisconsin Bell, AT&T, and Lucent Technologies.  Semi-retired, John and his friend Al used their talents and started their own business, JV Communications.

John married Nancy Lee (nee: Schenkenberg) Volk on April 20, 1968 at St. Casimir’s Catholic Church. They were longtime members of St. Casimir’s until it closed in 1997. Following, John & Nancy became members of St. Richard of Chichester Catholic Church and would also frequently attend St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church with other family members.  Sadly, Nancy passed away on May 9, 2020.

John was a voracious reader. His favorite pastime was going to sprint car races with his firstborn, Rob.  John was a willing chauffeur for his wife while she gambled with gusto at the casinos and treasured their yearly trip to Door County. John was an intelligent, handy and hard worker who loved doing maintenance around the house to keep himself busy.  Bringing John special joy was spending time with his grandsons and great-grandsons. “Butch” always looked forward to trips back “Up Nort'” to Wabeno, a place he adored and was his little piece of Heaven.  In addition to loving his family with every fiber of his being, John possessed a memorable laugh and a sly sense of humor, which thankfully continued to shine through until near the end.

Surviving are his son, Jeffrey (Catherine) Volk; daughter-in-law, Tabathia Volk,  grandsons, Matthew (Kenzie) Volk and Jack (Katherine) Volk; great-grandsons, Aaron and John Volk; his mother-in-law, Mary Louise Schenkenberg, all from Racine; brothers, Jim (Julie) Volk and Jan Volk; sisters, Faye (Jim Tuszka) Volk and Donna (Don Tucker) Volk; brother-in-law, Robert (Leitha) Schenkenberg; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends – too numerous to mention all by name.

In addition to his parents and wife, John was preceded in death by his dear son, Rob Volk, who passed away as the result of an automobile accident on September 1, 2019; brother, Gene Volk; Nancy’s parents, Cyrus and Marie (nee: Raymond) Schenkenberg; brother-in-law, Paul (Joyce) Schenkenberg; and sister-in-law, Nancy Volk.  He is also preceded in death by many other family and friends, of whom he loved dearly and vice-versa.  John missed his wife and son very much after their passing but are now all reunited.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 at 11:00 am in St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church (6400 Spring Street Racine, WI  53406) with Fr. Thomas Vathappallil, MCBS officiating. Military honors and a luncheon will follow. Visitation will be in Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home on Monday evening, July 7^th, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm and in the church on Tuesday from 10-11 am. Private interment will take place at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery. In memory of John, memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association have been suggested.

Special thanks to the wonderful staff of Heartland Hospice, especially Morgan Waldron RN and Chaplain Ginny Franchi for their loving and compassionate care given in John’s time of need.  They were his earthly angels who held his hand on his journey Home.