Lawrence “Larry” L. Eckstein, age 101 (almost 102!), WWII Veteran, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at Park View Health Center in Oshkosh, WI.

Larry was born to the late Albert and Minnie (Nelson) Eckstein in Allenville, WI on June 30, 1924 and was one of five children.

He was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Winchester when young and upon marriage became a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Winneconne. He was also a member of the American Legion Giles-Luce Post 364 in Winneconne.

Larry attended Allenville School through the eighth grade and then Winneconne High School for a short time.

He then worked for area farmers until enlisting in the Army in early 1944. He completed his military service overseas in early 1947.

Larry’s military training was quite risky and strenuous, such as: for boot camp in Florida, in mid-1944, he had to wade through the murky waters up to his waist, never knowing if they would encounter any alligators or snakes! No encounters, luckily! He also trained for the Tenth Mountain Division, that included extensive training in the Colorado Rockies specializing in winter warfare and Alpine mountaineering under extreme winter conditions. They were trained to hike up to 20 miles per day over multiple days, carrying backpacks weighing up to 90 pounds over steep, rugged mountain terrain, and training in Austria’s glacier crevices by having to repel down into and ascend back up again, etc.

He was part of The Tenth Mountain Division, that was famous for their successful, daring, & grueling (quietly scaled a 2,000-foot vertical cliff in darkness, fog, ice, snow, cold, carrying 50-pound backpacks on February 18, 1945. They wrapped cloth around hammers to quietly pound metal pitons in and used fixed ropes for the steepest parts), early morning assault on the Germans on February 19, 1945 on Riva Ridge in the Northern Apennine Mountains, breaking their defensive line when others could not. He was also part of collapsing the German defensive lines in the Po River Valley and Lake Garda, etc., causing the surrender of German forces in northern Italy on May 2, 1945. All total he fought in active combat for a little over two months.

Larry received many medals while in the military, including a Bronze Star for his bravery and heroism.

After he was honorably discharged and back home in early 1947, he joined the Army Reserves (through early 1950) and started working at Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Neenah driving forklift and semi-truck, until his retirement in 1984, at age 60. He then worked at Checker Logistics driving semi-truck until his retirement from there in 2010, at age 86!

On September 27, 1952, he eloped with the “love of his life”, Darlene Mielke to Dubuque, Iowa, then later married in the church on September 27, 1954. They were married 61 years until her passing in November of 2013.

Together, Larry and Darlene had six children, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. They were great role models, really loved and enjoyed their family, provided so many great memories, and were inspirations to us also!

He loved life and was such a loving, kind, gentle, patient, grateful, humble, quiet (and liked to joke around), trustworthy, hard-working, noble, well-liked, man who liked to serve his Lord, country, family, Legion, employers, and friends. He liked to garden, farm, play baseball, take pictures, bowl, travel, drive (especially semi-trucks), take road trips, and ride a two-wheel bike, sometimes up to 20 miles per trip up through age 95, and march in parades carrying the flag up through age 93! He will always be remembered for all of these things, and especially for his gratefulness and wonderful smile right up until the end! He will definitely be missed!

Larry is survived by his Children: Rhonda E.; Shelly B.; Julie H. (Mark); Dorry G. (Gary); Tim (Jodi) E.; Son-in-Law: Joe J. (Keri); special cousins: Charlie (Rita) N.; Doug N. (Mary); Grandchildren: Ashlee (Earl) D.; Shawn H. (Rainy); Jason G. (Michelle); Cole (Rachel) G.; Cassie (Cody) P.; Tyler J. (Sabrina); Cody (Justin) F.; Great-Grandchildren: Landon D.; RaeAnn R.; Hudson and Jameson G.; Leland P.; Rowan and Zander J.; Colton F.; a first cousin – Neita H., and many nieces, nephews, and distant cousins.

In addition to his Parents (Albert and Minnie E.); Siblings and In-laws: Virginia (Vernon) M.; Kenny (Frances) E.; Nina (Harry) I.; Warren (Barbara 2nd wife / Roberta 1st wife) E.; and his Wife, Darlene, he was preceded in death by a Daughter, Heidi J.; Son-in-Law, Bruce G.; and a Grandson, Jacob G. In addition, he was preceded in death by many first cousins and a special one (June T.) who shared some of the same things, such as, they both had eloped separately to IA with their significant others, shared the same birth date, passing date, and passing place, as both lived at Parkview Health Center later on. They were happy to be able to enjoy each other’s company for the short while that Larry was there.

A memorial service honoring and celebrating Larry’s life will be on Thursday, June 4, 2026 at St. Mary Catholic Church at 210 Pleasant Drive, Winneconne. Visitation will be from 2- 4 p.m., Mass from 4 – 5 p.m., Military Honors from 5 – 5:15, Food and refreshments from 5:15 – 6:30. For those unable to attend, the Mass will be live streamed.

Cremation and a private cemetery burial will take place at a later date in the Allenville Cemetery.

Larry’s family would like to give a sincere, “heartfelt” thank you to all the following organizations / people for all that they have done for him over the years:

Saint Mary’s Catholic Church team, Winneconne – All the prayers, in-home communion visits, holiday gifts, inspirational cards, bulletins, funeral planning assistance, etc.; Mueller Funeral Home; American Legion Giles-Luce Post 364 and Auxiliary Ladies in Winneconne – Always honoring him & never forgetting him; Larsen Medical Equipment – Always having what he needed!; Old Glory Honor Flight’s Heartwarming Trip to Washington, D.C. (2010) and American Airlines Heartwarming Trip to Normandy, France – (2024) - Coordinators and Medical Teams - (Diane M., Randy S., and Medical Teams), His Old Glory Honor Flight Sponsor 2010 – Charlie N., and his American Airlines Sponsor for the Normandy Trip 2024 – Randy S. and to Doug N. for suggesting Larry for the Normandy trip!; All the wonderful staff at Parkview Health Center in Oshkosh and Compassus Hospice in Neenah for all the wonderful, compassionate care they have provided to him over the last month!

We would also like to thank everyone else, beyond his family, who were part of his life, particularly in his later years, especially Jerry S., Doug N., Mark R., Craig G., Sue K., Bob L. and many others too numerous to mention. We are forever grateful and we will never forget you!