Roger Gatzke

Gatzke Roger “Rog” Age 79 Loving Husband, Dad, Papa and soon to be Great-Papa, died peacefully at home on April 7, 2019 Preceded in death by parents Walter and Jean Gatzke, brothers Tom and Bill, father-in-law Joseph and mother-in-law Frances Bonfe, nephews Ike Larsen and Billy Gatzke. Rog is survived by beloved wife of over 52 years, Judy and loving children Jeanine, Scott, Melissa (Eric) Rongstad, and Carissa (Mike) Schmidtbauer. Papa will be deeply missed by his 12 grandchildren: Carrie & Mike’s kids, Kylie and Tyler Knobbe and Samuel Schmidtbauer; Missy & Eric’s kids, Joseph, Samantha, Gabriella, and Daniel Rongstad; and Scott’s kids, Melissa, Justin, Kailey, Ashley, and Taylor Stenger. He was excited to become a Great-Grandpapa for the first time this coming June, and instead will be an angel looking out for baby Knobbe. Additional family who will miss him are his sisters Nancy (Louie) Larsen and Jackie (Fred) Yarusso; sisters-in-law Beth and Rose, many treasured nieces and nephews. His skills as a plumber will never be forgotten by his sister-in-law, Beth (who knew as she called in an expert to fix the fix that at least his heart was in the right place). He retired from the Electric Trouble Department after 44 years at Xcel Energy in 2005 and since then has enjoyed a life filled with many good jokes, a few hot but mostly not slot-machines with his casino-buddy Al, and lots of tasty “snackaroos.” He was always willing to be an impartial judge in a birthday party cupcake contest and delighted in teasing his niece, Terri, about her love of SPAM. His children will always shudder at the thought of his “world famous chicken cacciatore” recipe, still convinced it was the only thing he knew how to cook, and will always laugh at the memory of black electrical tape as an emergency diaper fastener. His strong and quiet presence will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Thanks to Dr. Shanks and his team at HealthEast Cancer Care Center and all the nurses and patient care staff at St John’s Hospital, especially the ICU staff, for their support and dedication. Visitation MONDAY April 15 from 11:00 AM to time of service at Mueller Memorial, 835 Johnson Pkwy, St. Paul. Service at 1:00 PM. Private interment at a later date.