Richard Clarence Badertscher was born March 21, 1937, to Harry and Jennie (McDonald) Badertscher, in Beloit, WI and passed away at the age of 88 on March 14, 2026, at Cedar Crest in Janesville, WI after a long illness. Richard was known by his many nicknames, Dick, Diamond Dick, Moose, and of course to his family, as Dad and Grandpa.
Dick attended Decatur Country School from K – 8th grade and after 8th grade he attended Brodhead High School where he was a star athlete participating in three sports. Dick was proud of being a U.S. Marine where he enlisted in 1955 and was stationed in Okinawa Japan. While there he got his first and only tattoo with the U.S.M.C. logo and Semper Fi put on his upper right arm, which he wore with pride.
Richard married the love of his life, Carole Peterson, on May 10, 1958, at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brodhead and together they had two (2) daughters, Lori and Tracy.
Dick was a great bartender and worked at Bluffview Park, Wish’s Bar, and the Harris House for many years. Dick was employed at General Motors in Janesville for 30 years, where he was a hard worker and dedicated to his career at GM.
Dick loved golfing at the Decatur Lake Golf Course where he was in numerous leagues. He was also an avid bowler and participated in leagues at Brodhead Lanes/Cardinal Lanes in Brodhead for many years. Dick enjoyed traveling with Carole to numerous places, including Las Vegas, NV, Laughlin, NV and Destin, FL where they were “snowbirds” for many years. During these trips they made many friends and created numerous friendships that have lasted for years. You would see Dick riding his Schwinn (no speed) bike on country roads in Brodhead. He loved playing cards, spending time with his family and friends, and drinking an Old Fashioned now and then.
Dick is survived by his wife, Carole, his daughters Lori (Rob Erfurth) Miller and Tracy (Jack) Petersen, his grandchildren, Amanda (Nicci) Miller, Marissa (Jeff) Worzella, Ryan (Andy) Miller, Brett Heitzman, Courtney (Nick) Kalwitz, Jaimee (Matt) Fargo, Jake (Jess) Erfurth and 9 great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, John (Jake) Badertscher and sister, Sandra (Bob) Marion, his brothers-in-law Bob (Jean) Peterson, Terry Peterson, Paul (Debbie) Peterson and sisters-in-law, Anna Lea Duchow and Pat Peterson, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Jennie Badertscher, his in-laws, Raymond and Florence Peterson, brother-in-law, Bruce Peterson, sisters-in-law, Brenda Badertscher and Helen Peterson.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at Newcomer Funeral Home, Brodhead, WI from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM with a short service at Noon. Lunch will be served at Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead immediately following the service. A private family burial will be held at Greenwood Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Croix Hospice.
Dick’s family would like to thank the wonderful staff at the memory care unit and the skilled nursing unit at Cedar Crest for their compassionate and loving care. Many of the memory staff came and told us that he was one of their favorite patients and how they could usually bribe him with ice cream. We also want to extend our thank you to the St. Croix Hospice Team as they were there for our family the last 4 months and took wonderful care of him the last week.