Gerald E. Manske

Gerald Elmer Manske, age 89, of La Crosse, WI, passed away on Friday, December 29, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. Gerald (Jerry) was born in Vernon County to Edwin Hugo and Ida Caroline Manske on September 8, 1934, in the Chaseburg/Harmony area. He attended Viroqua area schools, graduating from Viroqua High School in 1952. He served six years in the Wisconsin National Guard. On October 8, 1955, he married Judith (Judy) Rhomberg of La Crosse.

Gerald worked at Trane Company for 42 years as a Quality Control Inspector. Raised on a farm, Gerald's love for farming never left him and although he lived and worked in La Crosse, he also worked his own farmland for 30 years and loved to tractor down into the valley to keep trails open after retirement. Among his hobbies were snowmobiling, deer hunting, trout fishing, ice fishing, travel, ginseng hunting, and turkey and pheasant hunting. He also made firewood to sell but mostly he enjoyed the process of falling and processing trees. He liked playing cards and played euchre every Tuesday night with a group of friends for 40 years. He could grow anything, anywhere and devoted half his backyard to vegetables and flowers in addition to a plot on his farmland. He admired good farming and remarked on the progress of crops while on country rides out to his land.

He and Judy raised three children, Steven (Su) Manske, Peggy (Rick) Kriebel, and Thomas Manske, and loved his family dearly. He shared his love of nature with them, taking them fishing, blackberry hunting, camping, snowmobiling, gardening and shucking peas and husking corn. He was a loving grandfather to Bridget Mankse, David (Rachel) Kriebel, and Leah (Henry) Cantleberry (Kriebel), and to greatgrandchildren Egon, Otis, and Olivia.

Gerald had an outgoing personality, and people often described him as the nicest guy, and he always had a radiant smile. He was happiest when visiting with people. He loved his family, and it was mutual. He especially loved his wife, Judy, and remained a sentimental romantic to the end. He was a good man.

Gerald was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Eldred (Marge) and Rueben (Marge) Manske; sister, Marie (Wesley) Oldenburg; and numerous beloved cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 400 West Avenue South, La Crosse, WI. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the funeral. Rev. Richard Pamperin will officiate. Interment will be held at Oak Grove Cemetery in La Crosse.