Obituary for Kurt T. Knutson

January 24, 1957 - June 26, 2025

Kurt Thomas Knutson, age 68, of La Crosse, WI. passed away peacefully at home on June 26, 2025.

Born on January 24, 1957, in Madison, WI, to Clinton and Viola (Gunderson) Knutson. Kurt grew up in the Village of Oregon, WI, where he spent the first 15 years of his life.

In December 1972, Kurt moved with his family to La Crosse, WI., which quickly became his newly adopted hometown.

Kurt attended La Crosse Central High School and graduated in the class of 1975. After high school, Kurt attended UW-La Crosse until he began his career with the G. Heileman Brewing Company in March 1978. Kurt was a proud Heileman employee for 21 years.

Kurt eventually took on a new challenge in 1999, as Co-Owner of Dick’s Pallet Works (DPW) for another 21 years. There, he continued to utilize his talents in the warehousing and trucking business.

Shortly after his retirement, Kurt was presented with an opportunity to join the La Crosse Distilling Hand Sanitizer project. Again, Kurt utilized his warehousing skills to assist the project. He wanted to be sure to extend a big thank you to Nick, Mitch, and Lee for allowing him to be part of the team. It was a true pleasure.

During Kurt’s employment years, he also served as Chairman of the Wedgewood Water Trust, which provided potable water to 178 homes. He served his community in this capacity from 1993 until 2011, when he advocated for the Town of Shelby to take over as Owner/Operator of the Wedgewood Water Trust System. Kurt was appointed Commissioner to the Town of Shelby Sanitary District #2 (SSD#2) Board in 1999. In 2019, Kurt was appointed to the position of President of the SSD#2, on which he proudly served until his passing. 2024 brought a new challenge for Kurt when he was nominated and accepted to the Norskedalen Board of Directors. A long-time supporter and advocate for Norskedalen, Kurt gladly participated in events and served on the Thrunegaarden committee. He spent a quick, but active year on the Board of Directors until his health forced him to resign from that position in 2025. But the sum of Kurt’s life can’t be measured by the jobs he held or the Boards he sat on. For those of us that loved him… he was far more.

Kurt lived by several key tenets. Work hard. Embrace your traditions. Be there when there is a need. Be a steward to our environment. While Kurt had an amazing work ethic, he lived his life from a viewpoint of abundance. For him, that meant never hesitating to be there for his family and friends. He was always at the ready to load up his truck and assist in whatever was needed.

Family was a touch stone for Kurt. When some of his Dad’s family property came up for sale years ago, he decided to purchase it. Not to keep for himself, but to make sure that the future generations of Knutson's and their friends, have the same opportunities that he had. He loved sharing the passion for hunting and getting close to nature that his father had instilled in him. He planted thousands of trees, became a mentor to his nephews and nieces and created a legacy that he hopes will live long after he is gone. He loved living in the Driftless region, enjoying all of the natural beauty and opportunities the landscape provides. Kurt took great joy and pleasure in being a conservation and environmental supporter, including Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Whitetails Unlimited, and Clean Water Action.

Kurt met Renee (Stangeland) Knutson in high school. After many years of being at each other’s side, they married on October 3rd, 1987. Together, they filled their home with love, laughter, and spirit. They had a mutual love of dogs and through the years welcomed Konan, Mitzi, Tucker, Bailey, Cooper, Zeke, Chase, Quinn, and their current crew… Zeva and Luka… into their home. Each new project, endeavor or journey was a shared effort. Supporting and caring for each other along the way.

Surviving Kurt are his wife, Renee; dogs, Zeva and Luka; his sister, Philayne (Tom) Chose; brothers, Keith Knutson (Kim Dowat), Brian Knutson, Bruce (Susan) Knutson, and Tryg (Pam) Knutson; and sister, Kari Knutson. Kurt kept close ties with his many nieces and nephews over the years. Each one held a special place in his heart as well as their spouses and their children. Kurt is also survived by loving cousins from both the Knutson and Gunderson branches of the family.

Kurt was preceded in death by parents, Clinton and Viola; sister, Tana Palmer and brother-in law, John Palmer; nephew, Steve Magee; numerous aunts and uncles and cousins; and paternal and maternal grandparents; as well as in-laws, Shirley and Elmer Stangeland.

Having lived in this beautiful area for over 40 years, Kurt developed many strong friendships, including Pat Sake and Monica Redmond, Dave and Diane Prendergast, John and Tonya Boland and family, Tom and Judy Sleik, Peter and Deb Woerpel and family, and Mike Flanagan. They each helped to make his life rich with conversation, adventures and the very best of what friendships bring to a life well lived.

A celebration of Kurt’s life and loves will be held in the fall of the year and announced at a later date.

From Kurt… “Keep me in your heart for a while”.

Online condolences may be offered at this site.