Edwin (Whitey) William Giese, 92, of rural De Soto passed away peacefully at home with his family at his side on Monday, June 12, 2023.
Edwin was born Aug. 26, 1930, to Edward and Elinor (Sletten) Giese in the town of Ridgeville, Monroe County. He graduated from Ontario High School in 1948, worked with his father on the home farm in Cook Creek, near Ontario, and then joined the U.S. Navy in 1956 for a two-year enlistment. After his honorable discharge, he worked briefly at Clark’s, helped his brother Everett with farming, and then began work at Dairyland Power Cooperative in 1957, at Alma, Wis.
He married Jean Simonson at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in May 1959, and they moved into their first home in Cochrane, Wis. There, they welcomed their daughter, Tamara, and their son, Bruce, before moving to a farm in rural Alma. Another daughter, Rebecca, and a son, Douglas, were born shortly before the family moved to a farm in rural De Soto when the new G-3 power plant was opened for operations at Genoa, Wis., in 1968.
Edwin enjoyed farming with his John Deere two-cylinder tractors, raising Herefords, fixing old cars, traveling around the United States in the family’s pickup camper, spending time with his family, and playing with his grandchildren. He and his wife Jean were longtime members of De Soto Lutheran Church, where he served on the council and on the building committee. He retired from Dairyland in 1993 after 35 years. A great joy of retirement was attending reunions with his shipmates from the USS Witek in locations all over the U.S. Another driving adventure took them to Alaska, visiting relatives in Canada along the way. He loved attending the Iola car show and two-cylinder tractor shows. Many good gatherings were held at their camper with the folk artists during the Nordic Fest in Decorah, Iowa.
Preceding Edwin in death were his parents, Edward and Elinor; his parents-in-law, Hans and Ila Simonson; his brother, Everett Giese; his sisters, Frieda Bauman and Norma Mlsna; his sister-in-law, Jane Giese; his brothers-in-law, Al Mlsna, Leonard Klump, Verlyn Krause, and Bud Bauman; his nephews, Michael Giese, William Giese, Paul Krause, and Terry Krause; and his niece-in law, Dorothea Krause.
Surviving are his wife, Jean; his daughter, Tamara (Kenneth) Barclay; his son, Bruce (Theresa) Giese; his daughter, Rebecca (Michael) Lusk; his son, Douglas (Toni) Giese; his grandchildren, Ashley (Erik) Larson, Ashley Buechler (Sean Caflisch), Melissa (Erik) Johnson, Matthew (Andrea) Lusk, Rachel (Paul Jones) Barclay, Jessica Lusk (Jack Papke), Kristin (Marc Ramirez) Barclay, Gustav (Anna) Giese, and Ila Giese; his great-grandchildren, Alexandra (Ethan) Klingenmeyer, Tatum Buechler-Bristol, Linleigh and Evelyn Larson, Mikayla, Brooks and Hadley Johnson, and Grant and Ava Lusk; and his great-great-granddaughter, Amelia Klingenmeyer.
He is further survived by his in-laws, Donna Klump, Eileen Krause, Dale and Dolores Simonson, and Glen and Arlys Simonson; and many nieces and nephews and a former daughter-in-law, Stacey Burnstad.
Friends and relatives were invited to services Saturday, June 17, at De Soto Lutheran Church. A lunch followed in the church fellowship hall. Burial with military honors was at Brush Creek Lutheran Church Cemetery in rural Ontario, Wis.
The family wishes to thank the St. Croix Hospice and Gundersen Medical Center fourth-floor neuroscience departments for their special care, along with their wonderful neighbors, Arne and Tama Trussoni, Nate and Danielle Trussoni, Elaine and Dan Elliot, Dan and Lisa Proksch, John and Patty Stilwell and the many others who helped along the way.
Memorials may be made to the De Soto Lutheran building fund; the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum of Decorah, Iowa; Norskedalen of Coon Valley Wis.; or Brush Creek Lutheran Church of Ontario, Wis. Online condolences may be expressed at www.vossfh.com.
