Former Wisconsin Aeronautics Official, Mark Pfundheller

Sept. 18, 1955 – July 2, 2022

Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2022 Digital Issue

Mark Pfundheller

Mark D. Pfundheller, 66, of Edgerton, Wisconsin, passed away July 2, 2022, surrounded by his family. After fighting Churg-Strauss Syndrome for 12 years, complications from Covid pushed his lungs to the brink and led to his death.

Pfundheller was born in Stoughton, Wisconsin, the son of Douglas and Ardys (Holtan) Pfundheller.

As a youngster, Pfundheller never sat still. He rode a unicycle to school every morning, wrestled in the smallest weight class, danced (and flipped) in the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers and loved to golf and ski. His family spent summers on the lake, where he learned to sail, developed a love of boating, and became an excellent water skier, swimmer, and diver.

Following in his father’s footsteps and inspiring his son, Nick, to do the same, Pfundheller got his pilot’s license in high school and built a single cockpit Pitts biplane with friends and family. His exceptional spatial awareness propelled him to become a great pilot, and he flew in airshows and aerobatic demonstrations around the state. But most remember him for doing impromptu shows over local Lake Kegonsa, waving his wings at the end.

After graduating from Stoughton High School in 1973, Pfundheller took a year-long sojourn to Colorado where he enjoyed life as a ski bum before earning a bachelor’s degree in Cartography from UW-Madison. He worked for 33 years as a pilot and aviation consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Aeronautics until his retirement in 2017.

But the job he was most proud of – and the one that kept him busiest – was being a dad. Pfundheller raised his children solo, and he was always there…never missing an event, never burdened by single parenthood, never making his kids feel that he or they were sacrificing. Pfundheller quietly demonstrated what a parent should be.

In 2004, Pfundheller married the love of his life, Kelli L. Manson. In a ceremony in their backyard, they both rode “down the aisle” in golf carts. The wedding was filled with music, dancing, laughter, family, and friends – the way they lived out their life together.

The Pfundhellers camped at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer where they made life-long friends, traveled to Africa, Mexico, Australia and beyond. They made each other’s lives – and the lives of those around them – brighter and more fun.

Mark Pfundheller is survived by his wife, Kelli; four children: Kevin (Renee) Stokstad, Lindsey (Jake) Lentz, Jamie Pfundheller, and Nicholas (Katelyn) Pfundheller; 10 grandchildren: Kaden, Kellan, Alex, Kenley, Tatum, Ruby, Lily, Freya, Friedrik, and Finnick; two siblings, Marjie Hanssen and Karen (Greg) Gilbert; as well as nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents.