Gerald C. Haessig

Gerald Clayton (Jerry) Haessig was released from his pain on December 19, 2015 at Lake Winona Manor. He was born on December 13, 1948 in Winona to Clayton and Mildred (Herrmann) Haessig. Jerry graduated from Winona Senior High School in 1967. He remained in close contact with many of his classmates, regularly meeting with as many as were able to attend for lunch or just to reminisce. Jerry graduated from Winona Area Technical School in 1971. He married Patricia Sue O'Dea on March 3, 1972 at Saint Matthew's Church in Winona. They have one son, Kevin. Pat and Jerry were blessed with their daughter when Kevin married Vicky Glodowski on October 16, 2010. Shortly after their marriage, Pat and Jerry moved to Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, ultimately returning to the Winona area permanently in 1977. Jerry worked a variety of jobs during his lifetime. For several years both before and after his marriage, he worked at Clate's Mobil Service Station with his father and brothers. He was with Winona Printing from 1988 until 1995. At that time, he retired due to the challenges resulting from multiple medical issues. Post retirement, Jerry remained active in the community. He donated time to the Red Cross, often driving to Saint Paul with blood donations. He and Pat have been active church members. They were leaders of the youth group at Faith Lutheran Church in Saint Cloud. Jerry served on the Church Council at Central Lutheran Church which helped relocate a family to the Winona area from a war torn Bosnia. More recently, they became members of Faith Lutheran Church in Winona. Jerry could often be seen waving to passersby as Pat was volunteering to help maintain the grounds. Jerry was also involved with Neighborhood Watch groups, hunger drives (most recently CROP Walk), Grace Place, Home Delivered Meals and many other organizations that work to better the lives of people in the Winona area. Jerry was an enthusiastic supporter of local amateur athletics. He and Pat attended many games at Cotter High, Winona High, Winona State and Saint Mary's. Jerry was also a big fan of the Minnesota Twins. He attended many games in person with family and friends and watched most of the rest on television. He had an entire room filled with plaques, pennants and other memorabilia. While thankful his pain is gone, Jerry will be greatly missed by his wife, Patricia; son Kevin (Vicky) Haessig of Goodview; sister Darlene Metzler of Winona; brother John (Margaret) Haessig of Faribault; and brother James (Julie) Haessig of Trempeauleau. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Kay O'Dea of Winona; brother-in-law James (Beth) O'Dea of Goodview; as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends. He has been reunited in Heaven with his parents Clate and Millie, his grandparents, as well as Pat's parents Donald and Fyrn O'Dea. Memorial Service will be 11 a.m., Wednesday, December 23, 2015 at Faith Lutheran Church in Winona with the Reverend Mark Dumke officiating. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m., Tuesday at Hoff Celebration of Life Center in Goodview and one hour prior to the service at church. Honorary pall bearers will be Tom Dunlap, Bill Koutsky, Paul Mertes and Phil Steber. The family requests that memorials be made to Faith Lutheran Church, the Winona Health Foundation or the donor's choice. The family would like to say a special "thank you" to the staff of Lake Winona Manor for the care, comfort and hospitality they provided to Jerry and his loved ones during the last few weeks of his time on Earth.Please share a memory of Jerry, sign his online guestbook and view his video tribute when it becomes available at www.hofffuneral.com.