Phillip Makurat

The 10th of February 2026, Phillip Anthony Makurat passed away peacefully at his residence in Oshkosh, WI. Born at Berlin Memorial Hospital, Nov 19, 1941 to Ruth (née Kwidzinske) and Florian Makurat, Phillip was the second of four children. Growing up in Berlin, Phil kept busy as a member of Boy Scouts of America joining the Order of the Arrow. He became a HAMM Radio operator (K9HXJ) and took jobs at a local garage, a local record store, and delivering newspapers. Phil played football, basketball, and baseball for Berlin High School where he was known for his pranks and became class president in 1959. After graduating from UW-Oshkosh in 1963, he married Sharon Leah Belling and moved to Las Vegas, NV where he had accepted a position teaching high school physics and mathematics. While in Las Vegas, Phil and Sharon welcomed their first child Camille then they moved to Indiana where Phil earned his Master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. Phil accepted a professor position teaching at UW-Whitewater and moved his family there, eventually building a home on a 20 acre hobby farm. In 1975, Phil and Sharon welcomed their second child, Adam. In 1980, Phil earned his PhD from Walden University. Phillip loved to travel. Besides state and national parks in the US, he visited Camille in the Republic of Korea, toured much of Europe, and taught a semester abroad in Australia. Besides travel, he pursued other hobbies including cross-country skiing, bike riding, and photography. Phil enjoyed gardening, growing up to one acre of vegetables and fruit on the farm. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing as well as working on engines of all sorts. He was usually tinkering around an old tractor or a vintage car and included his family in his hobbies. After his divorce, Phil met and eventually married Cathleen Haskins in 2004 including her children in his hobbies as well. In the spring of 2008, Phil retired from teaching at UW-Whitewater and moved with Cathleen to Bailey’s Harbor, WI. While enjoying the Door County lifestyle, he joined the Bailey’s Harbor volunteer firefighters and became a certified EMT. Eventually Phil sought the warmer weather in Albuquerque, NM and when his health began to decline, he returned to Wisconsin. Phillip is survived by his brothers Dennis and Alan and his sister Marita Pietrykowski, his first wife, Sharon and their children Camille and Adam, and their grandchildren Josophine and Evan. He’s also survived by his second wife, Cathleen Haskins and her children (Jake, Matt, Anna, and Eva). A funeral Mass is planned for Friday May 22, 2026 at St Raphael's Church in Oshkosh. Visitation will start at 9 am and the funeral at 10. Immediately after, Fr. Tom Long will also perform the Rite of Committal at St Stanislaw’s Cemetery in Berlin, WI followed by a luncheon at he VFW hall.

Phillip Makurat

November 19, 1941 - February 10, 2026