Ahlgrimm, Milton S. “Mick”
December 19, 1927 - January 12, 2010
MINERAL POINT, WI / SCOTTSDALE, AZ - Milton (Mick) Sistek Ahlgrimm, of Mineral Point, WI, passed away on January 12, 2010 at his winter home in Scottsdale, AZ, from complications due to cardio-pulmonary disease. His 3 children were with him at the time of his death. Mick was 82 years old, born on December 19, 1927, to Frederick and Ruth (Sistek) Ahlgrimm in Racine, WI. He graduated from Horlick High School in Racine, WI in 1946, and was accepted into the V-12 Navy College Training Program at the University of California at Berkeley. When the program was phased out following the end of the war, Mick returned to Wisconsin to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he graduated with a Mining Engineering degree in 1953. While home from college one weekend, Mick read a newspaper article announcing two new teachers hired at Racine Park High School. He and a friend arranged for a blind double-date with the two young teachers. Mick brought a box of his homemade chocolate fudge which assisted in sparking the relationship he and his future wife Marian (Ryan) Ahlgrimm would have for over 50 years. Mick and Marian were married June 20, 1953 in Racine, WI.
While working as an explosives sales engineer for DuPont Explosives Company, Mick saw that a Mineral Point, WI, based explosives distribution company was for sale. Wishing to return to his home state of Wisconsin and become a private business owner, he purchased the company and moved his wife and 3 young children from Webster Groves, Missouri to Mineral Point and began Ahlgrimm Explosives Company in 1963. Mick was the first in the blasting industry to implement a new business model of not only selling explosives but also providing advanced blasting services to his customers. Mick retired from the business in 1993, leaving the company in the hands of his son, John, who still operates the company today, 47 years after its founding.
In his retirement, Mick enjoyed playing golf with family and friends, as well as attending sporting events at all levels. He has been a loyal supporter to the Wisconsin Badger athletic program and the Mineral Point Pointers. Mick appreciated his many friends in both Mineral Point, WI, and Scottsdale, AZ, for their love and support, especially in the most difficult part of his life, the years following the death of Marian, his wife of 50 years, in November 2003.
Mick was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Ruth Ahlgrimm, his brothers James Ahlgrimm, Judge John Ahlgrimm, and Thomas Ahlgrimm, all of Racine, WI, and his wife, Marian (Ryan) Ahlgrimm.
Surviving are Mick’s sister, Patricia Bogdanoff of San Jose, CA and Mick’s three children, Marla (Renee Dorazio) of Madison, WI, John (Mary Ellen) of Appleton, WI, and James (Marijo) of Falls Church, VA, and five grandchildren, Elizabeth, Matthew, and Robert of Appleton, WI, and James and Aaron of Falls Church, VA.
Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at the CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, 305 Maiden Street, Mineral Point. Burial will be held in Graceland Cemetery with Military Graveside Rites accorded by the Mineral Point American Legion. Friends may call from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Friday at the GORGEN FUNERAL HOME in Mineral Point and from 10:00 a.m. until time of services on Saturday at the church , Mineral Point.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program, Upland Hills Healthcare, 800 Compassion Way, Dodgeville, WI 53533, the American Heart Association, or the Mineral Point Fire Department, 320 Doty St., Mineral Point, WI 53565.
