Full Obituary

GERALD P. FRESE, age 76, of Owen, passed away on Friday, February 28, 2020, at Marshfield Medical Center in Marshfield. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 4:00pm at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Owen with Rev. Baskaran Sandhiyagu officiating. Visitation will be held at the church on Thursday, March 12, 2020 from 2:00pm until time of service. Following the service, there will be a dinner and gathering in the church hall to reminisce and share memories.
Gerald Peter Frese was born on March 21, 1943 in Stanley, WI, the son of Henry and Rose (Vanderloop) Frese.  He was raised on the family farm in the Town of Reseburg, rural Thorp, and received his education at area schools. After completing his education, Gerald hopped on a box car train and adventured to Oregon where he worked as a logger for several years.  When he returned to Wisconsin, he worked briefly for the City of Thorp before working for the Clark County Highway Dept. for 31 years as a equipment operator, spending many long nights plowing snow. Gerald retired in 2000 from the Highway Department and spent his retirement years enjoying what he loved the most, pulling horses, going to horse sales, and watching his children and grandchildren compete in horse shows, horse pulls and sporting events.
Gerald was united in marriage to Marianne M. Brandl on August 28, 1971 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Auburndale, WI. They lived in Thorp for the first few years of their marriage before buying a farm in Owen, where they remained for the rest of their married life, raising their four children. Gerald enjoyed traveling with Marianne, going to Canada, Alaska, Montana, Florida and many other states. Most of their married life was spent farming, milking cows, and raising beef cattle, along with the many horses and other animals. Gerald had a passion for horses, and could be found participating and providing the pulling boat and judging at local horse pulls and participating in the local parades with his team of Belgium’s. He enjoyed horseback trail riding and took his children on many of them. He also provided them and his grandchildren with many opportunities to participate in local horse shows and horse pulls. He always made time to listen to others and was a true friend to many. Gerald always had a team of horses around to hook up for sleigh rides in the winter, to plow the fields in the spring and to rake the hay in the summer.
Gerald is survived by his loving wife: Marianne of Owen, 4 children: Karen (Adam) Simington of Owen, Karla (Greg) Klapatauskas of Medford, Kevin (Cindy) Frese of Thorp, and Kenny (Dawn) Frese of Owen; 12 grandchildren: McKayla (Jonathan) Patino, Megan, Brianna & Connor Simington, Laurissa, Lindsey & Luke Klapatauskas, Courtney, Austin, and Justin Frese, Carmen & Brooke Frese; 1 great-grandchild: Mateo Patino; 1 brother: Roger (Joan) Frese of Withee, 2 sisters: Maxine Lingenfelter of Withee & Roxann McAllister of Park City, IL; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many friends. 
He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother: Bernard J. Frese and his sister: Lorraine Trohanov. 
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Gerald's family for future designation.