Obituary of Rodney Wittwer

FORT ATKINSON -- Rodney James Wittwer, 87, born to this life on November 8, 1931 was born to eternal life on August 10, 2019.  The only child of E. Robert and Alma (Schneider) Wittwer, he grew up in New Glarus.  He graduated from UW-Madison in 1953 and served in the Navy from 1953 until January, 1957.

He married his good friend and classmate, LaVonne Walden on June 21, 1953 and together they raised four children:  Rodney Paul (Deborah Parker) of West Medford, MA, Daniel of Cottage Grove, Laurel (Daniel) Morrow of Jefferson, and Janeen (Edward) Sanders of Cary, NC. 

Rodney worked as a CPA for most of his life.  His family moved from Madison to Jefferson County in 1968 and his last place of employment was with Premier Bank where he worked for 8 years before retiring in 1996.  He served on the Trinity Lutheran Church council, Jefferson school board, and the Koshkonong Mounds Country Club board.

He was an excellent musician and a highlight of his life was playing clarinet and marching with the UW band in the 1953 Rose Bowl parade.  He also enjoyed telling the story about when he played Wilhelm Tell’s son in the New Glarus Wilhelm Tell Pageant and had an apple shot off his head with an arrow.

He was proud grandpa to Michelle, Amanda, and Jacob Morrow, Alexandra Wittwer, and Edward Sanders, Jr., and great grandpa to Brittyn Morrow.  Extended family include step granddaughter Rachel (Gary) Ottley and step great granddaughters Kaylan and Soraya Ottley and a special daughter-in-law Wendy Wittwer.

Rodney’s best times were spent with his family and he rarely missed an opportunity to attend his grandchildren’s sporting or musical events.

Though he was far from a par golfer, he loved the game.  He was a good bowler and enjoyed playing card games with family and friends.

His family will fondly remember him for his love and devotion, honesty, sharp sense of humor, intelligence, love of sweets, being fun loving, a good provider, a happy camper, and a sharp dresser when supervised by LaVonne.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, September 7, 2019 at 11:00am at Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson.  Visitation will be held from 9:00 am until the time of the service.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, Lutheran Mideast Development, or Rainbow Hospice.

The family would like to express sincere thank yous to the great staff at Sienna Crest where Rodney resided for the past four and a half years and to Rainbow Hospice especially Amanda, Jane, and Rhonda.

Nitardy Funeral Home in Fort Atkinson is assisting the family.