Ronald J. Gundlach

Ron (Gundi), age 81 of rural Boyceville, WI passed away peacefully on Tuesday, November 3, 2026 of natural causes at his home.

He was born on Halloween in 1945 in Menomonie as the second of four children born to Lawrence and Helen (Scharlau) Gundlach. Ron spent much of his childhood in the Colfax and Elk Mound areas and graduated from Colfax High School. At just 13 years old, he moved out on his own and went to live with his Aunt Ruth. He began working at a young age for a number of area farmers including Otto Waldbuesser who would later become his business partner. His early experiences helped shape the hardworking, independent man he became.

Throughout his life, Ron held a variety of jobs, including dairy farmer, bus driver and milk truck driver. He eventually took a job with Wisconsin Truck Contractors working in a large swamp in Florida that would eventually become Disney World. After returning to Wisconsin, Ron began working for Rusk Rural Gas Service in Rusk, where he later became co-owner of the propane company, a role he held for more than 25 years.

During his time at Rusk Gas, he met Janet Christianson. They married on April 8, 1972 and spent their honeymoon at Disney World. Together, they raised two daughters, Jennifer (Chad) Klatt and Renee (Cass) Bettendorf. During their early married years, they lived in Colfax and then bought a farm north of Boyceville in 1986.

Ron’s favorite location was the farm. During his time there he mostly raised Herford cattle and dabbled in chickens, pigs and horses. He took great pride in caring for his animals, land, and tractors.

One of his favorite hobbies was food. If he wasn’t cooking an excellent meal at home he enjoyed taking his family out to eat and visiting supper clubs throughout the area. He especially appreciated a good steak and a brandy Manhattan.

One of the family’s favorite memories of Ron was his determination and resourcefulness during the great Halloween blizzard of 1991. The Boyceville area received about 20 inches of snow that day. Ron wasn’t about to let a little Wisconsin weather ruin Halloween. He put chains on the tires of his 1966 Ford pickup and took his daughter, niece, and nephew trick-or-treating around their rural neighborhood.
Ron had an outstanding work ethic and could fix or build anything. If he didn’t have the right tool for the job, he would often figure out how to make one himself.

He also made sure all the children in his family learned a few important life lessons; never waste food, have fun getting muddy, and perhaps most importantly use your head to think for yourself. These are just some of the life lessons Grandpa Ron passed along.

Ron is survived by his wife Janet of 54 years; daughters and sons-in-law, Jennifer and Chad Klatt and Renee and Cass Bettendorf; sister-in-law and brother-in law Joyce and Dennis Hill; niece and nephew-in-law Laura and Marty Seeger; grandsons Reyse Klatt, Forest and Arlo Bettendorf; great niece and nephew Morgan and Bobby Seeger; his three siblings, a number of other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, parents-in-law Forest and Anne Christianson grandson Joshua Klatt and nephew David Hill.

A celebration of life will be held at his old farm (E2868 1210th Ave. Boyceville) on November 7 starting at 1pm. The family would like to thank Adoray Hospice for the help with his care during his last days.

To share a memory, please visit obituaries at www.olsonfuneral.com