Ralph A. Mann

Ralph A Mann, 93, of Onalaska WI, passed away peacefully on December 23 ^rd , 2022, at home.

Ralph was born on December 3, 1929, at home in California to Lonnie and Sarah Mann, the 2 ^nd of 3 sons. He was always a hard worker and was proud of his humble beginnings. A native of Exeter and Fresno, California, he graduated from Exeter Union High School in 1947 and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in criminology from Fresno State College in 1953. He also earned credits from UW-Madison and UW-Whitewater and was a certified emergency vehicle instructor. Ralph served with the U.S. Army, earning the rank of corporal in the Military Police at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. He was a proud sports official of 60+ years and officiated games over those years for basketball, football, baseball, track and cross country and was also a longtime member of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA). He was proud to read the WIAA rule book from back to front each year. He was still officiating a full schedule of track and cross country up until the pandemic in 2020 at 90 years old and had volunteered for years for the Chileda Classic and the WIAA state track meet.

His lifelong passion for law enforcement, began in high school and continued throughout his life. He began as a police dispatcher and then became a police officer in Fresno, California until he was injured on the job. This led him to Wisconsin to begin his teaching career in law enforcement, starting at Blackhawk Technical Institute and then a role in Madison at the State of Wisconsin for the Law Enforcement Standards Board. He then returned to Blackhawk Tech and was the Police Science Coordinator in the Janesville-Beloit area until 1986. In 1986, he began as the Police Specialist at WWTI (now known as Western Technical College - WTC) in La Crosse, WI. He retired from WTC as the Criminal Justice Coordinator after many years of training police recruits. He continued to teach Group Dynamics and assisted with other courses well after his retirement.  He was honored for his work by his inclusion in the Wisconsin Blue Book for his role on the Law Enforcement Standards Board.

Ralph was a proud Christian man. He had faith in God and showed this in his daily life. He volunteered at church by ushering, participating in men’s club and assisting with the live nativity. He also enjoyed volunteering at Good Steward as the “book man” and also as part of Friends of Luther. He was a proud father and grandfather and his love for his 3 daughters and his grandchildren was unsurpassable. He was proud to be in law enforcement from high school until his passing. He was proud of the men and women that he trained in recruit classes. He was deeply proud to be honored as a veteran on the Freedom Honor Flight in 2013. He was proud to be an official thru the WIAA for over 50 years and he always enjoyed meeting and talking to the AD’s at the meets he officiated.

He looked forward to the Wednesday lunches with Ken and Kathy. His smile and laugh was unforgettable. No one was a stranger to Ralph Mann.

He is survived by his wife Bonnie, daughters Karen Dewey and Stasia (Kevin) Burr, and grandchildren Christopher, Mykel (Samantha), Randy, and Samantha (Josh) Fredricks; Brad, Bryan, and Sarah Dewey; Breeanna (Keandre) Brooks and Brynn Burr. He is also survived by his brother Earl Mann and many beloved nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents Lonnie and Sarah Mann, his brother Jack (Norma) Mann, and his daughter Claire Fredricks.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, December 30, 2022 at First Ev. Lutheran Church, 400 West Ave S, La Crosse, WI. Pastor Roger Sachs & Pastor Ben Schmudlach will officiate. Friends may call at the church on Friday from 10:00 AM until the time of the service. Luncheon to follow the service in the church basement.

Private burial will take place at a later date in Mormon Coulee Memorial Park.

The family would like to thank the staff at Benedictine, the hospice team at Gundersen, and most importantly the Renal Dialysis team at Onalaska Gundersen for their love and support of Ralph.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred for First Lutheran Church, First Light Learning Center, or Luther High School Athletic Department.