Paul M. Bothe

Paul M. Bothe, age 59, of Decorah, died Tuesday evening, January 7, 2014 at Wellington Place in Decorah following a battle with cancer at age 59. A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:30 P.M. Saturday, January 11, 2014 in the Fellowship Hall at First Lutheran Church in Decorah with Rev. Chad Huebner officiating. Private Family Inurnment will be in Graceland Cemetery in Milwaukee, WI at a later date. Paul Martin Bothe was born October 4, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of William and Jane (Fretheim) Bothe. He graduated from Milwaukee Lutheran High School with the class of 1972. He then attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Paul later attended the American Motorcycle Institute in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he became a Specialized Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Mechanic. Paul moved to Decorah and worked at Reilly Construction. He was a master mechanic. Paul then continued to work as a handy-man. He was a member of First Lutheran Church in Decorah. Paul is survived by three sons, Richard Bothe of Ray, North Dakota, Joseph Bothe of Decorah and William Bothe of Chicago, Illinois; one daughter, Naomi Biedermann of Decorah; seven grandchildren: Bryn, Wyatt, Sailyr and Boedy Bothe, and Victor, Osro and Royal Biedermann; his mother, Jane Pape of Spring Hill, Florida; one brother, Chuck Bothe of Scottsdale, Arizona; and by two sisters, Rozanne Sorenson of Laramie, Wyoming and Mary Bothe of Scottsdale, Arizona. He was preceded in death by his father William in 2004. Memorials may be given to: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or Winneshiek Medical Center Hospice, 901 Montgomery Street, Decorah, IA 52101.