Anthony “Tony” M. Bauer
Anthony “Tony” M. Bauer was born in 1935 in a farmhouse in Waukesha County (Town of Vernon), Wisconsin and passed away on October 27, 2026 at the age of 91. He was preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Grace (Barbian); sister Margaret Wendler and her husband Harold, brother James and his wife Bonnie (O’Leary); and sister-in-law Sandra (Bissett). Tony is survived by his wife of 68 years, Lois (O’Leary); children, Rita Peffers and her husband Bruce, Joseph and his wife Lauren (Chan), and Eric and his wife Sally (Schamel); grandchildren, Stephanie Clapp and her husband Justin, Caroline Cox and her husband Nathan, Caitlin Peffers, Kendra Peffers, and Karson Bauer; great grandchild Elizabeth Clapp, Jameson Clapp, and Thomas Cox; and, brothers John and Thomas and his wife Julie (Miller).
Tony graduated from Mukwonago High School in Wisconsin. He then served three years in the Army stationed in Germany. After leaving service he married Lois and entered Utah State University where he earned a degree in landscape architecture and environmental planning. He went on to receive a master’s degree from the University of Illinois where his research focus was on reclaiming mine sites as an integral part of the surface mining process. Tony worked for 15 years as a surface mine reclamation consultant, followed by 18 years on the faculty of the landscape architecture department at Michigan State University. Nine of those 18 years he served as department chair. He retired from Michigan State University in 1998.
Tony was an active volunteer throughout his professional career. He worked in Vietnam to help develop a master plan for a new university campus in the Mekong Delta region, served on several nature center and park boards, and spent 14 years as a youth construction supervisor at Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan, for which he received a Michigan Governor’s Award as Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. In his retirement years, one of his favorite activities was making wood toys for the R.J. Scheffel Memorial Toy Project which gives toys to disadvantaged and grieving children. Tony enjoyed traveling, reading, dancing, hiking, and gardening, but time with family gave him his greatest pleasure.
A gathering of family and friends to honor the life and memory of Tony will be planned for a later date. Any notes of remembrances would be greatly appreciated and cherished by the family and may be emailed to RememberingTony_2026@yahoo.com.
