Community icon Joe Marchese dies at 84
Former county supervisor, Lisbon firefighter
Posted: Living Sussex Sun, Aug. 31, 2010
Town of Lisbon Veteran civic activist and local businessman Joseph “Joe” Marchese of Lisbon, 84, died last Wednesday, Aug. 18.
Marchese served on the Waukesha County Board for 26 years, from 1982-2008, and owned Marchese Danceland in Sussex.
He was also a charter member and volunteer firefighter with the Lisbon Fire Department, a member of the Sussex Lions Club and a past president of the Waukesha County Tavern League.
Waukesha County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer, who served with Marchese for the last 16 years of his tenure on the board and attended his funeral Monday at St. James Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls, recalled him as “always colorful” in an interview Tuesday with Lake Country Publications.
“He always had a lot of information on any topic, including a great institutional memory, and he wasn’t shy about sharing it,” Dwyer said. “He also had the interests of Lisbon’s people at heart and spoke up for them loudly.”
Lisbon Fire Chief Doug Brahm – like Marchese, one of the first 40 volunteers with the department when it was formed in 1982 – said Marchese “wanted the best for everyone.
“He was a huge advocate for the town and the Fire Department. He was very vocal and got things done for the town.”
Although Marchese ran several unsuccessful campaigns for a seat on the Lisbon Town Board, “He continued to participate in town affairs and was very vocal at Town Board meetings,” Brahm said in an interview Tuesday.
“He was a one-of-a-kind type of guy,” Brahm added. “I never knew anyone anywhere quite like him.”
Marchese was confident and a successful businessman, Brahm noted, “but he also had a soft side and a very cool attitude on life. I really enjoyed my time with him. He’ll be missed.”
Besides their work for the Fire Department, Marchese and Brahm had something else in common: a passion for antique and collectible cars.
While Brahm likes hotrods and an old firetruck he picked up, Marchese’s passion was for old Model A Fords, made only for four years, 1928-31.
“He had all kinds of Model As and parts for them,” Brahm said. “We used to help each other out with our hobby vehicles.”
A more recent addition to the Fire Department, Ralph Modjeska, also worked with Marchese in the Sussex Lions Club.
“He was a true gentleman,” Modjeska said in an interview Tuesday. “He was generous and kind and always treated everyone with respect.”
Marchese is survived by his second wife, Marilyn (Witon); his sons, David (Sheri) and Andrew Beres; his daughter, Lisa (Scott) La Fleur; his grandchildren, Jacob, Gabrielle, Sidney and Nickolas; his brothers-in-law, Richard, Raymond (Dorothy), Rev. Russell and Robert Witon; his cousins, Marge Michaels and Betty Warneke; and other relatives and friends.