LeRoy Elmer Gesche, age 82, died unexpectedly on December 3, 2025 following a heart attack.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2053 at 12:00 P.M. at Grace Lutheran Church in Hayward, WI. Please come to visit with family starting at 10:00 A.M. at the church. Military honors and to follow the service at the church and a luncheon will be provided by the family and hosted at Hayward Wesleyan Church. A private family interment will be held at the Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spooner at a later date. The service will be live streamed, and you can access this on the Grace Lutheran Church website: https://gracelutheran-hayward.org/live/

To know LeRoy was to love him. He was born on October 9, 1943 to Elmer and Louise (Hinz) Gesche in Elmwood, WI. He attended Elmwood Public School and graduated in 1961. After working for a few months at Graco in Minneapolis, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served until 1965. His military service included becoming a Green Beret (special forces) and earning a parachute badge, which he has told us many times that he did for extra money to fund his “social” activities.

He met the love of his life, Irma (Scott) Gesche on a blind date when they were introduced by their dear friends. Following a brief, long distance courtship, they were married on June 11, 1966 in Lexington, KY. In 1968, they purchased their home in Roseville, MN where they lived for 42 years. LeRoy spent the majority of his career working for Northern States Power Company where he started as a Coal and Ash Handler. He went back to school at St. Paul College while working full time to earn a diploma in Machine Tool Technology and he then worked as a Maintenance Machinist for NSP, a position he loved

For the last five years of his career, he served as a Maintenance Supervisor, a position that he loved less. Following their retirement, Irma and LeRoy built their dream home on Gull Lake. This was LeRoy’s happy place. He loved visiting all of their dear neighbors, serving as the Gull Lake hardware store / handyman whenever friends had a need. He loved shooting trap and skeet weekly both in leagues in the Twin Cities and with his friends in Cable. He LOVED his weekly UTV adventures and ice cream stops. He enjoyed their frequent dinners with their Spooner friend group, his adoption into the Cotts/Heibel family, and breakfast with their Grace Lutheran Church friends.

He loved hunting, particularly deer and pheasant hunting and cherished the times he had in a frozen camper deer hunting and eating the picture steak in South Dakota. He was SO EXCITED to harvest his largest buck ever in November. He also volunteered on the Grace Lutheran building and grounds committee, the Gull Lake association, and with Ruby’s Pantry in Hayward.

What he loved more than anything was his woodshop. He spent hours “making sawdust” and dragging it into the house for Irma to clean up. LeRoy took his lathe skills he learned at NSP and perfected them to turn the most beautiful wood bowls. He also loved the challenge of creating useful kitchen utensils, gifting them to friends and family. It was so fun to watch him move from how to fix things to how to create beautiful things.

LeRoy is survived by his wife of 59 years Irma, daughter Donna (Jim) Marzolf of LeSueur, MN , daughter Jennifer Gesche of Mankato, MN, grandson Kevin (Maddie) Marzolf of Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, Lauren (Matt Schoh) Marzolf of Edina, MN, Claire (Nikita Nusser) Burman of Mankato, Jim’s sister Sarah (Matt) Christensen and their daughters Ella, Greta and Anna. Also survived by his brother Lowell (Jana Marden) Gesche, Lennice (Bill) Howard, many nieces and nephews, and so so many close friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Louise Gesche.

LeRoy’s absence will be felt by many.

The family requests any memorials be directed to Grace Lutheran Church, Hayward WI, and Ruby’s Pantry.

Last Update: Dec 09, 2025 9:23 am CST