Ronald “Ronnie” E. Marsolek
Ronald E. Marsolek, 79, of Independence, passed away at home, June 7, 2023. He spent his last days attending to his fish pond, doing small odd jobs for friends, admiring his wife Lorraine’s flower gardens and soaking up the beginnings of the spring and summer with his family and friends.
Ronnie was born May 8, 1944, in the township of Burnside, to Leonard and Theresa (Przybilla) Marsolek. Ronnie joined the U.S. Army in 1965, and served two years at Fort Knox, after which he remained in the Army Reserves until June, 1971. After his service, he worked at Presto in Eau Claire, where he made bullets and car-pooled with his future wife, Lorraine. Ronnie and Lorraine were married June 23, 1972, in Arcadia. They had two children: daughter, Sheila (Hoff) and son, Kevin.
Ronnie was a builder of all sorts, for his whole life. He worked road construction for Trierweiler for nearly 20 years where he made many life-long friendships. Afterward, he continued his work as an independent carpenter and handyman extraordinaire. Ronnie and Lorraine lived in their home in Independence for over 50 years after buying it from his grandmother, Anna. He remodeled it and added to it over decades, including multiple garages, patios, ponds, and the gardens tended by Lorraine. He also built his daughter and son-in-law’s home in Ettrick. Ronnie’s workmanship can be seen in and around the community. Even while ill in the last months of his life, he remodeled a bathroom in his home. Ronnie was a collector of classic cars, owning ten at the time of his passing. Ronnie and Lorraine both enjoyed a good days work.
Ronnie made friends that he kept for a lifetime. On nearly every morning for decades, he had coffee with friends Michael and Richard Warner, brother-in-law, Jerry Feuling, and other friends popping in for a donut, a laugh or to pick Ronnie’s brain on how to fix something. Lorraine would always say “Her Ronnie could fix anything, except a TV.”
Ronald and Lorraine celebrated 50 years of marriage in the summer of 2022, prior to her passing in December. Ronald loved to travel with Lorraine, Sheila and Jerrod, going to Hawaii, Alaska, Utah, Nevada, Niagara Falls and many national parks including Glacier and Yosemite. His last trip was with Sheila and Jerrod to Florida’s Key West, Cocoa Beach and the Everglades in February 2023.
Ronnie is reunited in Heaven with his wife, Lorraine; their son, Kevin; his parents; brother, Laverne (Red); brother-in-law, Bobby Getter; and other family and friends.
He is watching over daughter and son-in-law, Sheila and Jerrod Hoff (Ettrick); three grand-kitties: L.J., Indee, and Bitty; sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Jerome Feuling (Independence); sister, Barb Getter (Blair); sister, Marlene Marsolek and partner Pat Sylla (Galesville); and Michael (Pata) and Richard (Kathy) Warner; along with extended family and friends.
Special thank you to the friends and neighbors who visited and sent well wishes, and to the staff of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in La Crosse for their extraordinary care, and to the Eau Claire Mayo Hospice Team for their incredible care and comfort to Ronnie and his family.
A Mass of Christian burial was held Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Father George Thayilkuzhitottu officiated. Ronald and Lorraine were laid to rest at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery in Independence. To express condolences to his family online, please visit www.edisonfuneralhome.com.
