Frederick Bernard Zitzner

Frederick B. Zitzner, 84, of Liberty Pole, WI passed away Tuesday evening in Vernon Memorial hospital, May 3, 2022, with family at his side. Frederick was born July 23, 1937, to Bernard and Hazel (Lieurance) Zitzner of rural Liberty Pole. He was baptized at Saint James Catholic Church in Rising Sun. He attended Gardner grade school and talked about riding his pony to school. He graduated from Viroqua High School 1956 where he was a proud member of the Viroqua High School band. Fred had a love for old cars mainly because his first car was a 1935 Chevy. After high school Fred worked at a filling station in Viroqua and attended Western Technical School for drafting. On October 22, 1960, he married Darlene Mikshowsky at St. Mary’s Catholic in La Crosse. Fred served in the Army National Guard, Troop C Recon, Squadron 105, stationed in Tacoma, Washington during the Berlin Crisis. After his service in Tacoma, Fred, Darlene and son William, returned to rural Holmen where Fred farmed and worked for the La Crosse County Sheriff’s office. In 1972, they moved to the family farm outside Liberty Pole with six children in tow. During the 70’s he learned to fly with instruction from neighbor and classmate, Richard Solverson. Flying sparked the desire to build a plane himself which he almost completed but sold for someone else to actually fly. After retiring from milking cows and raising tobacco, Fred worked for Gunderson Lutheran Hospital as a security officer until 2004. He shared the love of deer hunting and trout fishing with his children and grandchildren. He had the opportunity to travel to Branson a couple of times and out east to visit the Studebaker and corvette museums. Looking at and for old cars and motorcycles was definitely a wonderful pass time he shared with his children and grandchildren. He enjoyed helping with field work, fixing anything that needed fixing and chatting with family or friends about new ideas he had read about. On days like today he would like to go trout fishing. Fred will be forever loved and in our hearts. Survived by his children: Bill (Lyn) Zitzner, Joe (Ruth) Zitzner, Lisa (Randy) Staggemeyer, Ann Marie (Dave) Christianson, Sarah (Matt) Vetsch, Susie (Elliot) Wickstrom; grandchildren: Tony(Roxy) Zitzner, Kym (Hunter) Atchison, Matthew Zitzner, Austin, Lexi, Alana Christianson, Dylan and Wesley Schultz, Ava and Alivia Wickstrom; step-grandchildren: Logan and Levi (Arianna) Sheldon; great-grandchildren: Elora, Betty, Rosalie Zitzner, and Lyonhart Sheldon; sister, Shirley (Mike) Riley; brothers-in-law, Doug Mikshowsky and Russ O’Neil; and sisters-in-law, Diane Strupp and Doris Mikshowsky. Fred was preceded in death by his wife, Darlene in 2019; his parents; brother-in-law, Dale Mikshowsky; sister-in-law, Jane O’Neil; and in-laws, Jim Strupp and Cathy Mikshowsky. A special Thank you to Dr. White, Dr. Bottner, Dr. Harmon, the Viroqua Clinic, and Vernon Memorial Hospital. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Viroqua. Fr. Daniel Sedlacek will officiate. Visitation will be held Monday, May 9, 2022, from 3:00 p.m, until 7:00 p.m. at Vosseteig-Larson Funeral Home in Viroqua. Additional visitation will be held Tuesday at the church from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the Mass. Burial with full military honors will follow at Liberty Pole Cemetery. Online Condolences may be expressed at www.vossfh.com. Vosseteig-Larson Funeral Home & Crematory is serving Fred's family. 123 W. Decker St. Viroqua, WI 54665 608-637-2100