Ronald Edwin Gerhardt, age 56 of Baldwin; founder of Gerhardt Excavating, died Sunday, May 15, 2011 at the American Heritage Care Center in Hammond following a courageous battle with cancer. Ronald was born on July 24, 1954 in Shakopee, Minnesota; the son of Edwin and Donna (Sandretzky) Gerhardt. Ron moved to Baldwin in 1960 from Rosemount MN, and attended the Hopyard Country School before entering the Baldwin elementary schools and high school. On November 24, 1973, he was united in marriage to Roxanne Knutson at Woodside Lutheran Church of rural Baldwin. This union would be blessed with two sons; Joshua and Joseph.

Ron was gifted and creative with his hands. He bought an old run down Caterpillar; repaired the motor and had it running like new. The excavating business was upon him. He began doing odds and end excavating jobs, as well as custom combining. To make ends meet, he also worked for Thor Aune repairing wells; a job which he thoroughly enjoyed. Ron’s excavation evolved into working solely with contractors for new developments and the roads entering them. In 2005, Ron retired from excavation to focus on his health after being diagnosed with cancer. Ron began tinkering with one of his passions in life; music. He played and recorded several songs. Some of his favorite music was Gospel, blue grass, and country. He was a member of the band ‘Split Oak’. He also took great pleasure in working side by side with Roxanne as they restored old vintage farming equipment; which he used on their acres at home. He loved gardening, fruits or vegetables, and grilling out with family and friends. Ron loved to go for drives with Rocky, and always chose the backroads for their trips, saying “you never know what you might find”. What you found with Ron was an old-fashioned and dependable guy, with strong values; the very traits he instilled in his boys.

Ron is survived by his wife Roxanne, sons Joshua (Barb) of Woodville, Joseph of Baldwin; mother Donna of Baldwin; sisters Polly (John Stansbury) Henke of Clayton, Renee Gerhardt of Baldwin, mother-in-law Leona Knutson of Baldwin, brothers/sisters-in-law Duane (Mimi) Knutson of NY, Ronda (Terry) Helgeson of Woodville, Kevin (Lisa) Knutson of Baldwin as well as extended family and many friends . He is preceded in death by his father Edwin, Brother Walter, brother-in-law Ray Henke, and father-in-law Carl Knutson.

Funeral services for Ron Gerhardt will be 11:00AM on Friday, May 20th at the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Woodville with Pastor Wayne Hilgendorf officiating. Visitation will be on Thursday from 4:00-8:00PM at the Immanuel Lutheran Church and one hour prior to the services on Friday morning. Burial will be in the church cemetery with active casketbearers being Tracy Anderson, Eric Davis, Jeff Lorentz, Trygve Norvold, Darren Lee, Robert Aune, Jay Larson, Aaron Kittelson with honorary casketbearers being Thor Aune, Tom Wink, and Doug Lee. Memorials are preferred. Funeral services entrusted to the O’Connell Family Funeral Home of Baldwin WI. 715-684-3434 www.oconnellfuneralhomes.com