When checking obituaries, we’re all searching for two things: age and cause of death.
Jerry Umnus died at 64 from hard living.
He lived life on his own terms. He always tried to be a fly in the ointment, the monkey with the wrench, and a pain in the a**. He did a stellar job at all three.
At St. John’s Lutheran in Burlington, he gained a firm faith foundation. Attending and graduating from BHS in 1978, his eyes were opened to a whole new world of possibilities.
Being the youngest, “Jer” (or as his dad referred to him “the pup”) was extremely close to his mom and dad, grandparents, and siblings. He cherished every holiday and celebration when all the relatives gathered at his childhood home. He was ecstatic to become a father. He is survived by his children, Kayla and Zach. He loved them and was so proud of them. His desire was for them to be brave enough to take chances, never waste their God given talents, go after what they wanted and fight to make their dreams a reality.
Honey Lake was home, and going “up north” 210 miles for a chance to finally bag that elusive giant buck near Black River Falls was his salvation. Since the deer were rarely to be found he would spend time relaxing after making a fire, dining at Stone’s Throw, stargazing, and chatting with owls.
It seemed to be destined that he would make his career at JW Peters, where he was a foreman for over two decades. He took great pride in knowing when something wasn’t going to plan and figuring out what needed tweaking to make it come together. After many time consuming trips to get input from engineering upstairs, his crew working diligently on the bed, welding, measuring, trips to the shop, a few football squares initialed and paid for, marking the prints, guiding the green hats, teasing, some yelling and joking around, pouring, and covering the day was complete. He received immense satisfaction in the end at creating something from nothing and having made something tangible that would stand the test of time.
He valued his friends fiercely as evidenced by his 50 plus years of friendship with Dan, Mike, Craig, Jeff, and Tom. They attended school, partied, labored, laughed, raised children, vacationed, and hunted together. These friends sustained Jerry and also bestowed on him the nickname “Boss”. (Thanks a lot, Dan!)
Being a born storyteller Jerry couldn’t help but reminisce. He shared the same stories repeatedly, much to the chagrin of his listeners, but to his credit, the facts never changed.
His parents, Warren Sr. and Marge, preceded him in death, along with his brother Butch.
He is also survived by the mother of his children, Donna Boehm Umnus; his sister, Sue; brother-in-law, Tom; brother, Dave; sister-in-law, Kathy; nephews, Davey (Amy) and Derek (Sara no h); great-nephews, Brett and Mason; aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and his wife, Dawn.
No services will be held.
Should friends desire, contributions may be sent to the family in lieu of flowers.
Please remember Jerry with a smile lighting up his eyes because he was thinking up a sarcastic reply, his good heart, and willingness to always jump in to lend a hand.
B-Town won’t be the same without you, Honey. Maybe you should scoop the Loop one more time.
Gerald T. Umnus
July 23, 1960 – March 23, 2025.
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