March 1, 2021 at 7:37 p.m.
Loyal (Tiny) Ray Dudley
He is proceeded in death by his mother and father, two brothers Gene and Jim, and three sisters, Marvel, Irene, and Leila.
He is survived by his wife, Jordes, 13 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.
Tiny attended school in Wabeno until 10th grade and then moved to Woodruff to live with his sister, Marvel Dudley Vanderhoff. He worked at his father’s sawmill before joining the army at 16. He left the army in 1949 and married Jordes soon after. Tiny worked at Pukall Lumber Company full-time until he started working for Jack Branham Bulldozing. He worked hard all his life for his family and the results of his work can be seen throughout the Minocqua and Woodruff communities. A major accomplishment was placing the boulders seen at the Minocqua Aqua Bowl. Tiny also built many of the roads throughout the community that are driven on by thousands every day. Another major accomplishment was preparing drill sites for the United States Geological Surveyors (USGS) which included building roads, moving drill rigs, and setting up each drill site. Tiny and his son Jack received a letter of commendation from USGS for their work.
Tiny was a published author retelling the story of how at age 7 he saved his brother Gene when Gene’s foot was caught in the railroad trestle on their way to go fishing. As the train rounded the curve, the engineer saw the boys and started blowing the whistle. The screeching brakes made a deafening sound but Tiny was not going to leave Gene. As the train was halfway across the trestle someone from above helped and with one tug Gene’s leg was freed. They jumped onto another beam alongside the tracks, pushing against the ties so they wouldn’t be sucked into the wheels until the train passed. Neither of the boys told their parents, afraid they would not be able to go fishing again. At age 10, Tiny saved Billy Mattson when he fell through the ice on a river as they were going to the store. His beloved dog, Shep, helped him find Billy under the ice. Tiny used a 10-foot board from an old nearby shed and scooted himself across the ice to get Billy out of the freezing water. He then laid him on his belly on a hill and pounded on his back until Billy spit out water and started to breathe. Tiny took the beating of his life from his dad because they weren’t supposed to go onto the ice and couldn’t sit down for a week. However, he never received another beating after his dad heard the truth, that Billy was the culprit and disobeyed their parent’s warning. He surely had many other acts of heroism and escapades which he retold many times over but were not documented.
Tiny had many other talents. He enjoyed writing poetry and would put poems in each kids Easter baskets. He often wrote of his trips to Alaska to see his kids and grandkids and the many other adventures in his life.
He was a skilled woodcarver making rattles and toys for his grandkids. He could build or fix anything. He was a prolific and excellent artist and drew Disney characters for his kids. He made the best homemade bread and Divinity candy at Christmas time. Tiny was quick witted until the very end of his life. His five kids are blessed with his creative gifts and talents which were passed along to their children. He will live on through all of them.
Memorial Service for Tiny will be held at a later date.
Online condolences may be shared at www.nimsgernfuneral.com. Nimsgern Funeral & Cremation Services is serving the family.
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