William S. Rose

William Stefan Rose (“Will”), 41, of La Crosse, died unexpectedly at home in his sleep on March 24, 2025.

Will was born Dec. 5, 1983, the son of Elizabeth Rose (of La Crosse) and Thomas Rose Jr. (of Sparta). He graduated from Logan High School in 2002 and graduated with honors from the Western Technical College Culinary Arts program in 2017. Since then, Will worked as a cook at the La Crosse Country Club, focusing on Mulligan’s Restaurant, a job he loved. He was featured in a special they called “Willard’s Wings,” and made his own special sauces each week.

Will often said that the birth of his son, Christian, in 2010, made his life complete. The two loved playing disc golf, fishing, Lego building, cooking, and geocaching together. Will enjoyed Christian’s band and choir concerts, art exhibits, and robotics challenges, and he especially liked bringing Christian to work with him. Family was everything to Will. He enjoyed family reunions as well as going to the lake to visit relatives throughout his childhood. Will helped his dad build a beautiful log home, and they worked on refurbishing his boat together.

Will is survived by his son; his parents; his stepmother, Susan Rose; his sister, Caitlin Rose; his stepsisters, Lisa Robbins and Nicole Netwal; many aunts, uncles, and cousins; and his special work friend Wes Schar. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Tom and Harriet Rose and Bishop Stefan and Mary Guttormsson.

Visitation is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Monday, March 31, at English Lutheran Church, 1509 King St., La Crosse, with a funeral service at 11:00 am. A luncheon will follow at the La Crosse Country Club.