Louise M. Zoerb

Louise Mary (Balmer) Zoerb of Onalaska, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and her family, on Sunday, August 25 at the age of 90.

Louise was born in 1933 to Louis and Mary Balmer. At the age of three, she was placed in The La Crosse Home for Children. She had a wonderful life there with 24 “brothers and sisters.” Josephine Fletcher was her guardian and mentor for the next 18 years. She graduated from Central High School in 1951, attended UW-L for two years and then was accepted into the St. Francis Hospital School for Medical Technology. She graduated in 1954. Louise worked in the field for 30 years at Lutheran Hospital, La Crosse Clinic, the office of Dr. Charles Link and finally as the Manager of the Laboratory at the UW-L Health Center. She loved all of her work and retired in 1998.

In 1956, a blind date changed Louise’s life. She met her the love of her life and her future husband of 65 years, Frederic Zoerb, always known as Fritz. They were blessed with three children; Kären, Kurt and Karl. Their precious Karl, loaned to them from God, passed away at age ten from acute leukemia.

Louise had many talents. One of them was quilting, which she discovered in 1980. For the next 30 years, it was one of her passions. She was the proud recipient of many blue ribbons, both locally and nationally. Together with Fritz, they found life-long friends in a Couples Bridge Club for 50 years, enjoyed golf, traveling, and entertaining.  Over the past 17 years, they cherished very dear friends in their Deer Creek Community and the ladies Mah Jong Group. Louise and Fritz were members of First Lutheran Church in Onalaska.

She is survived by her children; Kären and Kurt, grandchildren; Rachael Zoerb (Bill) Guerkink, Aaron Cohen, Alexandra Cohen (Vasya) Poylov, Ian Zoerb and Arianna Cohen. She was a proud great grandmother to Sean and Liam Guerkink and Sofia, Arthur and Alexa Poylov. She is further survived by John Zoerb, Richard and Margaret Ann Zoerb, and many beautiful nieces and nephews, family and dear friends.

Louise is preceded in death by her husband Fritz, her son Karl, her son-in-law Robert Cohen, her parents Louis and Mary Balmer, her in-laws Hans and Isabelle Zoerb, her sister-in-law Gloria Zoerb and her nephew Kevin Zoerb.

There will be a Celebration of Life on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 11:00 AM at First Lutheran Church of Onalaska. Visitation will begin at 9:30 AM. Please join us in wearing joyous colors to celebrate Louise’s love and beautiful life.  You are invited to join the family immediately following the service for a fellowship luncheon at First Lutheran Church.

Our family would like to extend our deepest thanks to the Mayo Hospice Team; Lindsey, Andrea, Matt, Taryn, Lesa, and her other angels, for their unwavering care, commitment and unconditional love.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages memorials in Louise's name to La Crosse Family & Children's Center, First Lutheran Church – Onalaska or a charity of your choosing.