Marvin L. Braun

Marvin Louis Braun, age 84, lifetime resident of rural Whitelaw, passed away Monday morning, April 14, 2025 at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, surrounded by his loving family.Marvin was born September 30, 1940 to Jack and Viola (Staudinger) Braun. He attended St. Michael's Catholic Grade School and graduated with the class of '58 from Reedsville High School. On June 9, 1962 he married the love of his life, Kay Lynn Avery at Holy Innocents Catholic Church, Manitowoc. The couple was blessed with four sons and 63 years of marriage. A self-described farm boy, Marv was born, raised, and lived his entire life in the community he loved, and a community that loved him back. He was a self-made man who lived a remarkable life, impacting many people - an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. He never backed down from an opportunity to enjoy life or take on a new business adventure. He would go out of his way to provide memorable experiences for the community, often putting the communities interest ahead of his own. He was a man that was in the arena of life.

Marv loved all sports, especially baseball. Starting as a bat-boy at the age of 10, and organizing his first team in 1958 which he and his brothers played on, his passion of providing the area with baseball grew from there. He was 17 when he built a new diamond in Whitelaw, but that field ended with the village of Whitelaw becoming incorporated. Needing a new ballpark, he leased land to create another very nice ballpark by the age of 18. Soon thereafter, Marv and his two brothers, Gene & Glenn ran the biggest softball tournament in the State (36 teams) at the time. Needing a place for teams to go after the games, the brothers bought & operated the famous Braunies Place in Whitelaw. In 1969, Marv bought land just South of Whitelaw and built one of the premier ballparks in Northeast Wisconsin. There he ran fast-pitch and slow-pitch leagues and even started the first women's slow pitch league in Manitowoc County. He was a trailblazer. The place to go every Friday night in the early 70's was Braunies Ballpark. The park closed in 1979 when Marv moved the lights to a new bar he now owned in Cato, called Marvin's Gardens. It was here he also organized the annual Cato Daze, a weekend filled with fun and an annual volleyball tournament which eventually grew to a set up of 18 courts and 200+ teams. His motto was, "Manitowoc County's No. 1 Fun Weekend". The three Braun brothers also formed Braunies Athletic Club in 1965 and helped organize pee wee, pony, and colt baseball leagues in rural Manitowoc County. The Athletic Club also became sponsors of many youth teams, tournaments, and off-the-diamond projects which included running a stand for many years at the Manitowoc County Fair where money was raised for a variety of causes, all in support of community projects. Marvin also played in several fast-pitch leagues for over 30 years and his teams managed to take eight county championships.

In 1996 Marvin broke ground on what was to be Seven Lakes Golf Course, fulfilling a life-long dream for him. He added a second set of nine holes to the course in 2002, eventually becoming a beautiful golf course with dining facilities and residential homes throughout the course. He was joined by his son Chad in the daily operations, and who now owns and operates the Seven Lakes Golf & Dining along with his wife, Karen. Quoting Marvin, "I love the county, I love the golf course, and I'm happiest now with the golf course completed" and "We built it ourselves!".

In addition to his love of sports, Marv was instrumental in organizing the St. Michael's/St. Mary's church picnics for many years. He had an unconditional love for his family. He adored his wife, Kay; cherished his four sons, their spouses, and his grandkids; and he loved his two brothers, often vacationing with them and their wives.

Marvin is survived by his loving wife, Kay; his four sons & daughters-in-law, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild: Wade (Kelly) Braun (grandchildren Bryce, Brenna and Barrett and great grandchild Preston), Dean (Tracey) Braun (grandchildren McCall and Avery), Lane (Sungmi Oh) Braun (grandchild Bene), and Chad (Karen) Braun (grandchildren Derek and Bennett). He is further survived by his two brothers & sisters-in-law: Gene (Pat) Braun and Glenn (Bridget) Braun; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Viola Braun; father & mother-in-law, Loren and Joyce Avery; and a brother-in-law, Randall (Suzanne) Avery.

The family will greet relatives and friends at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Whitelaw, Wednesday April 23rd from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue Thursday morning, April 24th from 10:00 until 11:45 a.m. The funeral service will be held at 12 o'clock noon on Thursday at St. Michael Catholic Church. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. Dave Pleier, with burial to follow in the church cemetery.

Online condolence messages may be shared by visiting DejaMartin.com.

Deja & Martin Funeral Chapels of Two Rivers is assisting the Braun family with funeral arrangements.

The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to the caring staff of Bellin Hospital, especially to nurses Jordan and Cassie for their compassion and kindness extended to Marvin and the Braun family.