Obituary for AnnaBeth Culver

AnnaBeth Culver, age 98, of La Crosse passed away on Monday, December 29, 2025 at the Bethany on Cass Assisted Living center, cared for by family, friends, and St, Croix Hospice. She was born in Belmont, WI (La Fayette County) on November 13, 1927, the youngest of three children to Oscar John and Elizabeth (Fehr) Henneman. She married Jerry Bayley Culver on June 16, 1951 in Belmont, Wisconsin. AnnaBeth is survived by her two sons; Joshua Kirk Culver, of Richfield, MN and Morgan Kindrick Culver, of Petaluma, CA., two grandsons; Graham Keegan and Nathan Carey Culver, also of Petaluma, and multiple, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her two brothers, Clarence Oscar and Harold Albert Henneman.

When she was born, her family lived in a small house in Belmont, WI right next to the local high school. Her father owned the O.J. Henneman General Store and her mother maintained a wonderful garden, used to feed the family. An entire room in the house was dedicated to storing hundreds of jars of fruits and vegetables. She lived Belmont until the age of 4-1/2 when her family moved to the 240 acre Ashton farm in 1932. On the farm her father and two brothers milked Holstein cows, raised Shropshire sheep, Angus, and many other livestock. For a time during the depression, there was no electricity, indoor plumbing, nor running water and when it rained the Model A Ford whey owned often sank up to the axles in the muddy lanes in and around the main house, tool shed, and other farm buildings. On the farm she would spend many hours riding a pacer horse named “Ted.” She rode back and forth to school on a bus until the age of 14 when she received her drivers permit. This allowed her to spend more time at school joining the music program, studying English, and begin to practice cheerleading before heading back to do chores on the farm. She developed a particular affection for music in high school playing the Baritone in the HS band and singing in the school choir. As she grew older she eventually became head cheerleader at Belmont HS and latter on at UW Platteville.

Between 1935 and 1946 she was active in 4-H, serving as president of her local chapter for several years, raising sheep and eventually showing livestock (Angus) at the Stock Pavilion at UWMadison. During this time she learned to sew, quilt, crochet, and knit, wining many first place and grand champion ribbons at numerous country and state fairs over the years. In 1943, at the age of 15 she was anointed as “Wisconsin’s Healthiest Girl” in a contest that would eventually be renamed as the Miss America Pageant after the war. She rode the train back and forth from these events and on one particular trip she met several paratroopers on their way to Camp Lejeune, N.C., subsequently writing them letters during WWII 1944-1945. AnnaBeth stayed on the farm until 1946. At one point she considered a job as a stewardess before turning her attention full to a career in education.

AnnaBeth graduated from Belmont HS in 1945 and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Platteville State Teachers College (now UW-Platteville) in 1949, majoring in history with minors in music, Spanish, and Geography. To earn her tuition she would go to school by day and work in the Platteville telephone office by night. She attended summer sessions at UW-Madison, and also at other campuses including the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Ohio State University in Columbus OH. She earned a Master of Science in Physical Education from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse in 1967. Her thesis on Walter Wittich (chancellor at UW-L) was used as the reference for future business college courses for years afterward.

Her teaching career started at various locations around Wisconsin including little towns like Rewey, Seneca, and then Oregon WI, in 1951 where she taught 10th grade Biology, 7 – 10th grade Girls Physical Education, and 12th grade social studies. After moving to La Crosse in 1955 she taught Girls Physical Education at Logan HS between 1956 and 1957. Taking several years off to raise and care for her two children; Joshua (Born 1958) and Morgan (Born 1960), she then obtained an associate professors position at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse in 1966 where she spent the next 26 years teaching Personal Health and Human Sexuality at the UW-La Crosse Health Dept., and Anatomy and History of Sports and Olympics in the UW-La Crosse Physical Education Dept. She taught at UW-L to her retirement at age of 65 in 1992.

Through-out her professional career, AnnaBeth made significant contributions to several educational, administrative, and social organizations. These included the American Assoc. Health Ed. (AAHE) and the National Assoc. Sports and Phy Ed. (NASPE) – starting in 1967. She was elected President of Midwest district of Wisconsin Assoc. Health, Phy. Ed. Rec. and Dance (WAHPERD), where she served from 1967 to 1990, and became a member of the board of governors for American Alliance for Health, Phy. Ed. Recreation/Dance (AAHPERD) from 1968 through 93, acting as executive director 1992-93. She founded the National Assoc. Society of Sport History (NASSH) at Ohio State in 1972, an achievement she was particularly proud of. Later in her career, she served as president, treasurer, and executive director of the PEO chapter in 1988 and received several honors during her tenure at UW-La Crosse being inducted into the Distinguished Alumnus of UW Platteville in 1993 and honored with Professor Emeritus UW-La Crosse upon her retirement.

In addition to her primary focus on education she participated in many social groups, both on and off campus. She was a member of Social Committee of Campus Dames, was a founding member of both the La Crosse-based Options in Reproductive Care org. and the La Crosse Family Planning Center – a women’s health organization that later became of the national Planned Parenthood organization. She also contributed to young musicians within the La Crosse community providing funds to the La Crosse Symphony Rising Star program (over a 9 year period), and was active in the La Crosse Area Quilters group. One of her most notable quilts – the 12 days of Christmas – was especially well received.

Always wanting to contribute to future education opportunities for others, she established several scholarships and foundations including the AnnaBeth Culver Scholarship in Health, Exercise Science and Athletic Training at UW-L, the Jerry B. Culver Scholarship in Geography and Earth Science at UW-L, the Jerry B. Culver Memorial Fund at Murphy Library, and the Research and Teaching Fellowship at the Gundersen Medical Foundation. She had a deep appreciation for music and as such, contributed to the purchase of the Celeste instrument (a percussion keyboard) for the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and sponsored the Annual Rising Star Piano Competition for La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, starting in 1988.

AnnaBeth loved to travel, especially after she retired from UW-L. During her younger years and time teaching at UW-L, AnnaBeth, her husband Jerry, and her two sons would spend their annual summer, two-week vacations touring various states and provinces in North America, mostly by car where her husband would visit key geographic sites to bolster the information he taught in his Geology and Geography lectures. Both of her children benefited greatly from these trips, not only by learning the history of the places they visited but by being able to visit all 50 states by the time her youngest son reached the age of 12.

In her later years she devoted her time to traveling the world. Starting at age 71, and for the next 19 years, she participated in over 100 trips to multiple cities in more than 30 countries. Many were with the Pipedreams travel organization which focused on visiting churches and performing arts centers, viewing large organs, and discovering the roots of famous composers and musicians. Some of these included; a historic organ tour through France and Italy, organ and music tours through Germany and Switzerland, visiting the homes of great composers in Vienna/Salzburg – Austria and a tour of famous opera houses in Bayreuth, Germany. The later Pipedreams tours included visits to Spain, Switzerland, Poland, and finally Scotland.

Many more trips were in conjunction with the Elderhostel and Roadscholar travel organizations which were specifically geared toward retirees and their grandchildren. Some of these included Cambridge University (north of London), Bolivia and Peru in Central America, a trip to the Yangtze River – China, touring rural Kenya Africa with her grandson Nathan, trips across the Northwest Territories, and a tour of Oxford England to visit one of the filming sites of the Harry Potter series with her grandson Graham. These were followed by trips to Costa Rica with her grandson Nathan, a tour of the Panama Canal, Argentina and Chile in South America, Copper Canyon in Mexico and the Lord of the Rings sites in New Zealand (both with grandson Graham), St John’s Newfoundland (with grandson Nathan), the Trans-Siberian Railroad - Russia/Mongolia, Oman UAE, and an extensive tour of South Africa where she visited Livingston, Zambia, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Kansan, and Botswana. At age of 83, she participated in the Iditarod dog sled races, Anchorage Alaska. Her final trips included traveling the Silk Road in South East Asia, Cuba, and a trip to Ireland with her son Morgan in 2017.

Family, friends, college colleagues, and others who knew her had the highest regard for her caring, her devotion, and her unwavering commitment to help those she could. AnnaBeth was not shy and was known for talking to just about everyone she met including students, colleagues, roommates, travel companions, waiters, cooks, and even complete strangers. She was more than willing to take the time to get to know them. Most who knew her during her life would often comment on her elegance, her grace, and above all, her unique character as “a lady with a lot of class.” She will be remembered always.

“Enjoy the organ music mom… it should sound wonderful where you are. ”

A memorial service will be held at the Cappella Event Center, on Tuesday, March 3rd 2026, at the original Wesley United Methodist Church, corner of 8th and King Streets La Crosse, WI. Guest access begins at 9:00 a.m. with a service between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. Food and coffee will be provided following the service. Internment will take place in a private service at the Whig Cemetery, Grant County, Rev. Carson Culver, Richland Center, officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to UW-La Crosse Foundation and Gunderson-Lutheran Hospice Care.