Roger William Tschudi

Roger William Tschudi, age 75, a long time Park Rapids, MN resident, passed from this life into eternal life on Tuesday June 23, 2015 at his home, surrounded by his loved ones after fighting a valiant battle against ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease). Roger was born on January 14, 1940 near Huntersville, MN to William and Julia (Salo) Tschudi. It was in the Menahga-Sebeka, MN areas that he grew to manhood helping on his parent's farm and attending public school. As a young man, Roger worked for a time as a school bus driver, a custodian at Sebeka Public Schools and also managed a large turkey farm. On April 28, 1962, Roger was united in marriage to Donna Lou Eckert in Sebeka. They were blessed with three children: Lonnie, Troy and Tony. The young couple made their home in Sebeka and Taylor Falls, MN before settling in Park Rapids, MN in 1972. Roger began working as a maintenance engineer with the St. Joseph's Hospital in Park Rapids and later assumed those same duties at the Park Rapids Medical Clinic in a combined career of over 29 years. Roger was a faithful member of St. Johns Lutheran Church in Park Rapids. For many years he and Donna enjoyed square dancing and were active members of the Park Rapids Friendly Squares Square Dancing Club. He loved working on all types of wood working projects and had made several handcrafted pieces of furniture for his family. Each spring he enjoyed raising a large vegetable garden into fruitful abundance to share with his family, neighbors and friends. He loved the great out doors; especially, when he could be out in the woods hunting or on his favorite lake fishing. Roger will be lovingly remembered by his daughter, Lonnie (Kelly) Hagen of Park Rapids; his two sons: Troy of Park Rapids and Tony (Wendy) of Tracy, CA; his four grandchildren: Stephanie (Taavi) Hagen of Brooklyn Park, MN, Lynsey Hagen of Rochester, MN, Brittany Tschudi and Rochelle Tschudi both of Park Rapids, MN; his five great grandchildren: Owen, Makenzie, Toryn, Aliyah and Zane; his sister, Irene (George) Kern of Blue Grass, MN and his brother, Carl (Bonnie) Tschudi of Menahga; as well as many nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his precious wife and soul mate, Donna in December of 2013; his parents and one sister, Shirley and one step- grandaughter, Mickki. Funeral services will be held 11 AM Saturday, June 27, 2015 at the St. Johns Lutheran Church in Park Rapids with the Reverend Tim Heinecke officiating. Sarah Kaufenberg will be the organist. His son-in-law, Kelly and his grand daughter, Lynsey Hagen will sing, "How Great Thou Art". The casket bearers will be: John Boland, Gaylord Carlson, Kelly Hagen, Tony Tschudi, Troy Tschudi, and Brent Goraczkowski. Interment will be made next to his wife at the Green Hill Cemetery near Sebeka. Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 PM Friday at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids and will continue on Saturday beginning one hour prior to the service at the church. Following the service, the St. Johns Lutheran Church will host a luncheon for all. To view the video tribute or to leave on line condolences please visit www.jonespearson.com.