Bernard F. Kriesel

Bernard F. Kriesel, 97, of Trempealeau, WI passed away peacefully, Monday, April 17, 2023, at his home with his longtime friend and sister-in-law, Pat Kriesel, at his side. He was born on the 4th of July, 1925, to Frederick and Delphine (Marcou) Kriesel, and was the sixth of ten children. Bernard grew up on Brice Prairie of La Crosse County and attended Oak Grove School, a one-room rural schoolhouse, through the 8th grade. It was during these early years that Bernard’s life-long interest in aviation began, as he would often watch small airplanes on the grass runway near his home.

After attending Holmen High School for his freshmen year, Bernard and his family relocated to a 60-acre farm outside of Trempealeau. He graduated from Galesville High School in 1943. Following graduation, he was unable to join his brothers and enlist in the services to serve his country in World War II. However, to support the war efforts, he moved to Santa Monica, CA to work at Douglas Aircraft Company to help build DC-4 aircraft.

After a year of employment in California, Bernard returned to Wisconsin to milk cows and help his brother, Irvin, after he was seriously injured in a local baseball game. Bernard also worked at the Post Office and took flight training when he could afford it. Bernard earned his private pilot license on May 1, 1945, when he was 19 years old. He was a pilot for 75 years and had over 1,500 hours of airtime in his life.

In 1948, he began his long-time employment working the spring and summer months for Mathy Construction Company hauling heavy equipment to road construction job sites throughout the Midwest. During the winter seasons, he worked for Mark Johnson and Co. when they started marketing Texas citrus products from south Texas.

In 1961, Bernard met and married his dear wife Hildegard “Linda” Kuhrt. They moved to Wisconsin and continued road construction work and later began working alongside his father, Fred, who needed help with his strawberry business. Bernard and Linda enjoyed the berry business and expanded into raspberries and fruit trees after Fred retired. When Bernard retired from Mathy in 1983, he took over the family business, The Berry Patch, full-time. Bernard’s attention to detail resulted in a thriving family business, locally known for its delicious “pick-your-own” strawberries.

At the age of 65, Bernard decided to concentrate on aviation once again and begin building small airplanes. The first plane he built was a Challenger, which took 1.5 years to build and he flew it successfully for 10 years. He then sold it and built another plane, the Zenith 701, which he sold in 2022.

In his retirement, Bernard read about mechanical engineers using vegetable oil for motor fuel and proceeded to convert his Volkswagen Truck to run on recycled soybean oil from the deep fryers of restaurants. Bernard often joked the exhaust smelled like french fries!

Bernard was a very quiet and humble man. He enjoyed 40 years of marriage with Linda, who passed away in December 2001. He was a self-taught engineer with a lifelong love of learning and really never “retired”. He loved nature and especially birds, with his favorites being the Purple Martin and the Eastern Bluebird.

In the words of many family members and friends, Bernard was a wonderful man, gentle, kind, and fun-loving. He was joyful and enthusiastic about all that he did and made each of his nieces and nephews feel certain they were his favorite.

In Bernard’s words, he encourages others to “make your life worthwhile.” He felt fortunate to have the savings and assets from his lifelong work to foster his fondness for the trades. Bernard recently established a new program at Western Technical College called The Bernard and Hildegard Kriesel Loan Fund, and established scholarships available to Western students. He also developed scholarship funding for students in the aviation field through the La Crosse Community Foundation. Through these scholarships, Bernard will continue to support the dreams and aspirations of students in pursuit of technical careers.

Bernard is survived by his sister, Phyllis (Joseph) Hazler of Bethlehem, PA; a sister-in-law, Patricia (Roland) Kriesel; more than 50 nieces and nephews, as well as many other dear family members and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Della; his wife, Linda; an infant sister, Mildred; three sisters, Lois (Wayne) Hagman, Doris (Corky) Shillings, and Irene (Robert) Schaller, four brothers; Herbert (LaVonne), Irvin (Lillian), Floyd (Delores), Roland Kriesel; brother-in-law, Gerd Kuhrt; and a nephew, Derek Iverson.

Visitation will be held from 10 AM until the funeral service at 11 AM on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at the Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home, 376 E Sarnia St., Winona.  Pastor Kathy Ingbritsen of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Trempealeau, will officiate.  Following the service, a luncheon and reception will be held at the funeral home.   Bernard will be laid to rest in the Greenwood Cemetery near Centerville, WI.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be expressed to Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Trempealeau, Western Technical College Foundation, or La Crosse Community Foundation.

Bernard’s family would like to extend their deepest appreciation to the Trempealeau Fire Department First Responders, Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department Officers, Wozney-Killian Funeral Home, Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home, Bonnie Kindschy, and Pastor Kathy Ingbritsen for their assistance.

Online condolences or memories may be left for Bernard’s family at www.watkowski-mulyck.com.