Victoria R. Lempke, age 88, of Marinette, passed away Saturday, September 19, 2026 at the Cottages in Marinette. She was born on December 16, 1937 in McAllister to Albert and Virginia (Caylor) Delfosse as the sixth of nine children. She was baptized, confirmed and later married in Community Lutheran Church in McAllister.
Always a bright student, she was placed ahead in elementary school by two grades and graduated from Wausaukee High School in 1954 at the age of 16. After graduation she moved to Milwaukee with two of her older sisters and easily found secretarial work. On one of her weekend visits home, she met her future husband, William (Bill) Lempke. They married in 1956 and had four children. They moved into the home they built on Hwy 180 in 1971, where they lived until Bill died in 2015. After his death, Vicki began to suffer from dementia and moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Cindi and Al Walker of Menominee. She resided there until 2024 when she moved to memory care at the Cottages in Marinette.
Vicki excelled not only as a wife, mother, homemaker and gardener, but was employed full-time for most of her working years. While serving as office manager at Marinette Insurance Company she obtained real estate and broker’s licenses in Wisconsin and Michigan. After leaving the insurance business she founded her own real estate agency on Marinette Avenue, Real Estate Unlimited. She enjoyed her retirement years by playing cards with her sisters, volunteering at her church, Trinity Lutheran, gardening, birding and traveling to visit her sons in Minnesota and Germany. As dementia set in, Vicki had very special people in her life caring for her, including her oldest sister, Mary Ann Langill of Menominee, who passed away in 2023, a sister, Kathy Rastall and sister-in-law, Mary Dumke.
She is survived by four children, Dale (Mary) Lempke of Rochester, MN, Cynthia (Al) Walker of Menominee, Debbie (Phil) Krueger of Waukesha, WI and Wayne (Henrikje) of Hilpoltstein, Germany. She will also be missed by her six grandchildren, Andy (Sara) Lempke, Claire (Phil) Grupe, Bill Walker, Lindsay Walker, Jay Krueger and Katie Krueger; and by four great-grandchildren. She is further survived by siblings, James (Nancy) Delfosse, Ed Delfosse and Kathy Rastall; and by her siblings-in-law, George (Mary) Dumke, Roy (Holly) Dumke and Karen (Rick) Kuran.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; her sisters, Mary Ann Langill, Betty Cherry, Gladys Wilke, Theresa Simon and Bernice Rastall; as well as several brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be on Thursday, October 8, 2026 at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Marinette beginning at 1 p.m. with a service to follow at 3 p.m. The Rev. Josh Frailing will officiate. Interment will be in Glenwood Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, the Cottages Memory Care, Moment’s Hospice or the Menominee Animal Shelter in Vicki’s name.
Special thanks to the Cottages Memory Care staff and to Moments Hospice for their loving care of Vicki over the last two years.
Hansen-Onion-Martell funeral home is assisting the family.
