Court of Appeals

Clair H. Voss had been on the bench for thirty-seven years when he retired in 1997. He was presiding judge of District II for the five years that he sat on the Courts of Appeals and served several elected terms as a circuit court trial judge in Waukesha County for the balance of his judicial career.

Voss did not settle in Waukesha County until after World War II. As a combat platoon leader with the 5th Marine Division, he saw action in the Pacific Theatre of operations and was wounded in the battle of Iwo Jima. His decorations include the Navy Cross, the Purple Heart, and a Presidential Citation. Later he served as national judge advocate in the Military Order of the Purple Heart and visited Vietnam and the Far East as national commander in 1966. He was active in the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and the Legion of Valor.

In civic affairs, he chaired the local American Red Cross and March of Dimes and headed the Family Service Agency. Active in church and youth organizations, he coached grade school basketball and football and was commissioner of a county athletic league.

Voss was born in Antigo in 1920, attended its public schools, and went on to Marquette and Notre Dame universities. At Marquette he played varsity football and earned three degrees: B.A., LL.B., and J.D. He and Betty Kivlan were married in 1944 and had four children. She died in 1978, and in 1980 Voss married Joanne Foley, a widow and mother of six.Voss was 78 when he died August 10, 1998.

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