Dorothy (Marsh) Plautz was born on November 11, 1928, in Neenah, Wisconsin, the only child
of Elwin and Eleanor Marsh. She was raised Roman Catholic on the family farm in rural Eureka
(Winnebago County), Wisconsin. She attended Bell School, a country school with one teacher
for all of the children in kindergarten through eighth grades. Later, she rode the bus to
attend Omro High School. In high school she met her first husband Noel Craig. They were
married after World War II and their daughter Valorie was born on July 15, 1949.
According to Mrs. Plautz, the marriage was apparently troubled early on. Plautz wrote about
her marriage to Craig in Four Generations of Women, which is
included in the collection. The Craig family first lived in Eureka, close to their families
before Dorothy insisted they move to Omro, Wisconsin in the 1950s. Dorothy remained married
to Noel Craig for fifteen years, despite the tumultuous nature of their relationship.
After Dorothy's divorce from Noel Craig, she continued to work and live in Omro with her
daughter Valorie. She became friends with another divorced woman and it was while they were
at a dinner together that she met her second husband, Alan Brunka, in 1960. Brunka was also
divorced and had custody of his sons, Tom and Jim, ages three and five. Shortly after their
introduction, Dorothy answered an advertisement for a part-time assistant to organize a
company's accounts. The company turned out to be Control Engineering, Brunka's business. The
two eventually began dating and were married in 1961.
The Brunkas moved to Oconto, Wisconsin in 1961 where Alan pursued his career as an
electrical engineer after dissolving his business. Mrs. Plautz wrote that the family also
moved away from Alan's mother, Ethel Brunka, who had been caring for Tom and Jim since
Alan's divorce from his wife Lillian, but did not treat the boys well. She was a source of
contention for the rest of the marriage for allegedly abusing the boys and allowing their
mother visitation when the courts prohibited it. Throughout their youth, Dorothy feared that
Lillian would attempt to take the boys away.
According to Mrs. Plautz, the Brunka family moved to Wales, Wisconsin in 1964 when Alan
began a new job. During this time, Alan and Dorothy became involved in local theatre groups
and spent many evenings out at theatrical presentations. Dorothy worked in various office
positions throughout her marriage to Brunka. As the children grew older, Dorothy was able to
return to work full time. Dorothy's parents, Elwin and Eleanor "Nellie" Marsh, began
spending winters with their daughter's family in Wales to save the expense of heating their
farmhouse in Eureka.
By 1976, Valorie, Tom, and Jim had completed their education and were no longer living with
Alan and Dorothy. Dorothy began taking English and creative writing classes through the
University of Wisconsin--Extension, and at Carroll College. Alan decided to sell their home
in Wales and move to a larger house in Palmyra, Wisconsin that needed significant repair and
remodeling. She wrote that Alan convinced her to move by pledging that the house in Palmyra
was his way of replacing her home in Oconto that she was forced to sell in the early years
of their marriage. However, the Brunka's marriage had been going through a difficult period
and according to Dorothy when Dorothy learned of Alan's extramarital affairs, she moved from
Palmyra to an apartment in Waukesha, Wisconsin with the assistance of her children.
In 1978 Dorothy secured a job as a nurse's assistant at Westmoreland Manor in Waukesha and
went about the business of rebuilding her life. Her divorce from Alan Brunka was finalized
in 1979. She married Paul Ogrizovich, Sr. in 1979 after caring for him at Westmoreland
Manor. Ogrizovich had been hospitalized after a stroke and was still in need of medical
assistance. With Dorothy's support, Paul moved out of the nursing facility for the first
time in over a decade and Dorothy became an important figure in the lives of Paul and his
children. Paul and Dorothy purchased a house in Waukesha and undertook a remodeling project
to make their home handicap accessible. Paul died on December 22, 1985 due to complications
from pneumonia.
Dorothy continued to live in their home in Waukesha, was employed part-time doing office
work, researched family genealogies, and wrote numerous short stories, articles for local
newspapers, as well as a number of books. In 1989, Dorothy married John Plautz, her fourth
husband. The Plautz's met at a meeting of a Milwaukee group called Widows Or Widowers (WOW)
in 1987. After their marriage, she sold her house in Waukesha and moved to his home in West
Allis, Wisconsin.
Dorothy Plautz published her first book, Der Stammbaum of the
Merkley-Merkle Family, 1795-1976: From Rottweil and Stetten, Germany, to Town of Vinland,
Winnebago County, Wisconsin in 1976. The genealogy book traced the history of her
mother's family and was followed by books about the Marsh, Craig, Brunka, and Ogrizovich
families. She also wrote the history of the Noldan family. Dorothy's daughter Valorie
married Larry Noldan in 1973. Dorothy became a close friend of Larry Noldan's mother and
grandmother and interviewed them for the book. In addition to genealogical research, Dorothy
also undertook local history research and published her first book of historical fiction,
The Glass House, in 1987. Two more works of fiction, The Homecoming of Amanda Cane and Sins and
Secrets, followed it in 1988 and 1994, respectively. Her writing also included
numerous articles for local newspapers, which were generally her remembrances about events
from the past, or stories that she was told as a child. She also wrote a series of articles
for Camping and RV Magazine entitled "Have Camper, Will
Travel." She recommended vacation destinations and provided illustrations based on her own
experiences traveling across the United States.
