Don (Donny) Hyska

Don (Donny) Hyska passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 23, 2021 at the age of 91 after a brief illness and with his loving wife, Sarah, by his side.

Donny was born on July 21, 1930 in Green Bay to Evelyn (Heim) Hyska and Michael Hyska.  He was the second oldest of six boys, and all of them were born at home.  Donny was a lifelong resident of Green Bay and enjoyed many years up at his cottage with his wife, Sarah.  Along with his brothers, Don truly enjoyed his mother’s homemade Coffee Cakes, T-Biscuits, Bread, Jams, Current Jelly, Cheese Torte, Baked Beans, and her Rump Roast make in a very special roaster.  They especially enjoyed her Donuts.  She was a fabulous baker and cook.  She also made several Christmas Tree decorations for her entire family.

Donny attended St. Mary’s of the Angels Grade School and graduated from East High School in 1948.  In 1950, Don married Sally De Groot and together they had and shared four children.  In 1950 also, Don enlisted in the United States Army and served over seas in the Korean War until he was injured in 1951 and then returned home.  He then went on to work for Northern Paper Mill which became James River Corp. and later Georgia Pacific.  Don worked for them for 44 years.

On April 29, 1969, Donny married Sarah Pavlat and they enjoyed 52 loving years of marriage together.  They also enjoyed going up to their cottage in the High Falls Flowage area for many years.  Several times through the years, Donny’s brothers and their wives got together for a “Brothers Weekend” and played Sequence and Domino’s on the porch of Roger’s cottage.  Let it be known, that the wives out beat the brothers many, many times!  Our last meeting for the Brother’s Weekend was on January 18, 2014.  We had lunch at Julie’s Café and then a potluck supper and playing Sequence at the Woodside Assisted Living Library.

In Donny’s earlier years, he liked to hunt and fish up and around his cottage and the Crivitz area.  He was very handy and could fix anything.  Don enjoyed playing cards and always wanted to “win”.  He was a Packer fan and loved watching the games and only living a block from Lambeau Field, he had his own real background sound system.  Donny especially enjoyed watching the Hockey games, with his niece’s son, Jason Pominville, playing for the Buffalo Sabres.  So much so, that Donny, Sarah, Suzie, Kenny, Peggy, Ted, Judi, and Bob actually took a trip to Buffalo to watch Jason play in three home games.  A good time was had by all!

Preceding Don in death are his parents Evelyn and Mike; son, Ricky; brothers Jerome (Jerry), Roger, and Ronald (Ronny) Hyska; sisters-in-law Sandi Hyska and Mariann Hyska; step-dad Arnold (Nick) Sasman; nephew Stephen Hyska; and many aunts and uncles.

Donny is survived by and will be sadly missed by his loving wife, Sarah; children Cherrie (Chris) Stevens, Gary (Tina) Hyska and Debbie (Dan) Zanzie; his grandchildren Mitch Bergh, Jenna Hyska, Nick Hyska, David Deffke and Ashley, Kathleen (Jan) Bartkowiak, Amber Brylski (Anthony Grahm) and Shawn Zanzie; brothers and sisters-in-law Francis (Fran) and Susan (Sue) Hyska, Robert (Bob) and Judi Hyska; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Suzie (Ken) Van Lanen; his nieces and nephews Dan (Sharon) Hyska, David (Mary) Hyska, Dale (Julie) Hyska, Tom Hyska, Jennifer (Steven) Neill, Jason (Bridget) Hyska, Bryan (Melissa) Hyska, Bethani (Adam) Thibodeau, Debbie (Jean) Pominville, Peggy Seim-Nielsen and Ted Melotte, and their families; his uncle Leo Heim; as well as other family, friends and neighbors.

Family and friends are welcome to a celebration of Don’s life to be held on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  A Funeral Service will follow at 3:00 p.m. with Sue Costello, St. Joseph’s Parish, officiating at the Lyndahl Funeral Home, 1350 Lombardi Avenue, Green Bay, WI.  To leave a message for the family, please visit www.lyndahl.com

The family of Don Hyska would like to thank the wonderful doctors and nurses who were there for Don while he was in St. Mary’s Hospital, the loving and caring nurses and staff at Woodside Lutheran Home, and the Unity Hospice personal who took great care of Don.  We also are grateful to the many friends that Sarah and Don have at Woodside.  All of your care, concerns and support for Don and his family will always be remembered and deeply appreciated from the bottom of our hearts.  May God Bless You All!

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