Brigadier General Gerald Roger Matteson was born on November 1, 1935 in Waukesha, WI. He passed away peacefully on January 9, 2018 at the age of 82 with family present. He is survived by his wife, Faye, of Hudson, WI; his son, David Matteson (Joanie) of Woodbury, MN (Twin Granddaughters, Jessica and Kaitlyn); daughter, Melissa Ollerman (Rick) of Littleton, NH (Granddaughter, Sabrina and Grandson, Ricky); son, Peter Chamberlain of Richfield, MN (Grandson, Mason); two sisters, Joan Seramur of Minocqua, WI and Irene Burkey of Chester, CA; and sister-in-law, Janet Matteson of Las Cruces, NM; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Arlene Matteson, twin brother, Harold; sister, Catherine Fleming; and wife, June Matteson.

He was raised on a small dairy and vegetable farm near Pewaukee, WI and attended grade school and high school in Hartland, WI. In 1954, he attended UW-Platteville, graduating in 1958 with a degree in agricultural education. He joined the National Guard that year and attended training and basic unit training at Fort Hood, CA.

He attended graduate school at UW-Madison from 1959-1961 receiving his master’s degree in 1960. Jerry married June Anderson on August 19, 1959.

In October 1961 after receiving a teaching position at Pulaski, WI, he was activated with the 32nd division and spent 10 months training at Fort Lewis, Washington. He returned in 1962 and spent the next two years teaching high school vocational agriculture at Pulaski.

In 1964 he returned to UW-Madison to complete his doctorate. In August of 1966, he obtained a position as assistant professor in the agricultural education department which is part of the College of Agriculture at UWRF. He spent 36 years at UWRF, retiring in 1999 only to return in 2000 to serve three more years until 2003 when he retired again.

Jerry had a very distinguished military career with 32 years in the Wisconsin National Guard. He served as the commander of the 128th Infantry Battalion. He later commanded the Wisconsin Military Academy. Jerry was one of the first Wisconsin Guardsman to have a Doctorate in Philosophy, and to be accepted to the prestigious Army War College in Carlisle, PA. He later reached the illustrious rank of Brigadier General and served as the Deputy Commander of Readiness and training for the State of Wisconsin, and Assistant Adjutant General. He retired in 1991 with numerous awards and citations.

During his tenure at UWRF, he attained the rank of professor and was the Assistant Dean of College of Agriculture for 20 years. His most noteworthy accomplishment was the development of the Agricultural Education Society (1969) and the Alpha Tau Alpha Fraternity (1972) which are presently nationally recognized as outstanding organizations. In addition to an excellent teacher and advisor, he was known for his interest and expertise in parliamentary procedure. His students affectionately called him “Doc” or “Mr. Parliamentarian” because of his leadership and efforts in developing workshops and judging teams for the FFA. Under his leadership, the UWRF Ag Ed Department judged most of the state FFA parliamentary procedure contests. Jerry was a National Registered Parliamentarian and served as parliamentarian for various organizations. For several years he put on workshops, judged 19 district competitions, 8 sectionals and provided judges for semi-final contests. He usually wrote the questions and abilities for these contests.

Jerry served as co-advisor to the UWRF Sigma Alpha Beta Zeta Sorority and its alumni from 2005 until 2011. Jerry and Faye (Garner-Mohs) were married on February 5, 2005.

He was an active member of the River Falls American Legion Post 121. Jerry was involved with setting up several blood drives, helped start the successful bingo program, oversaw rentals, and helped with the Christmas tree sales for several years. During his lifetime he donated 97 gallons of blood to the American Red Cross. Jerry was an active member of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church.

Mass of Christian Burial for Jerry will be 10AM, Tuesday, January 23rd at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, 211 E. Division Street, River Falls. Interment with full military honors will be provided by the American Legion Post 121 of River Falls. Urn bearers will be Wesley Eitel, Galen Gregerson, Lewis May, Gary Rohde, Stan Schraufnagel, and Blaine Westberg. Visitation will be on Monday, January, 22 from 4pm to 7pm at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church as well as one hour prior to the mass at church. Memorials are preferred to the American Legion Post 121.
Funeral services have been entrusted to the O’Connell-Benedict Funeral Home of River Falls, WI, and Countryside Crematory.715-425-5644