Larry R. Lichtie

Larry Ray Lichtie, 75, of Coon Valley, passed away peacefully on May 10 at home with his wife by his side. Larry was born at La Crosse Hospital on April 30,1949 to Ray and Joyce (Nekola) Lichtie.

He was baptized and confirmed at English Lutheran Church in La Crosse.  He graduated from Central High School in 1967.  Following high school, he worked on the Burlington Railroad till he enlisted in the Naval Reserves.  The Navy sent him to their Class A Communications School at Pensacola Florida.  He graduated with a top- secret clearance.  He was stationed at Subic Bay, Philippines and a short stint in Vietnam.  Larry got a kick out of his Navy nickname “Cool Breeze”.

On February 20, 1971 he married the love of his life Ainsley Knudson.  They lived first in Winona, La Crosse and in 1976 moved to Coon Valley and built their house on Ainsley’s family farm.

Larry worked almost twenty-five years at Northern Micrographic’s as production manager.  He then was head of security at Xcel Energy on French Island for ten years.

Larry loved to fish on the river and always enjoyed fishing trips with his dad and brother.  He loved classical rock music and was proud of his music collection.  He was also proud of his black belt in karate and a brown belt in Filipino kung fu.   Larry loved living in the country and puttering around in his garage. Larry and Ainsley traveled a lot in the United States and in 2011 went to Norway, Sweden and Denmark for their 40^th Wedding Anniversary. Larry had a long history of health problems and finally cholangiocarcinoma.  He kept his great sense of humor through it all. He will be remembered for his humor, generosity, kindness and love of family. 

Larry is survived by his wife Ainsley of 53 yrs., sisters Sue George (Ray), Sheri Christenson (Howie), Diane Hohlfeld (JR), brother and best friend David (Kim) and three dear aunts, Audrey Crowe of Tomah, Mary Lichtie of McFarland, and Mary Lichtie of La Crosse, special nephew Steven Brown, sister-in-law Corrine Appleman (Peter) and his cat Alfie. He has several nieces and nephews on both sides of the family.     

Larry was preceded in death by his parents, sister Lynda Wiemerslage, an infant niece Sara Wiemerslage, his in-laws Burton and Jane Knudson (Knutson), sister- in-law Kathleen Knudson, special Aunt Carol Kaiser and lifelong friend Eric Melby. 

We want to thank Dr. Edward Malone and his staff at Mayo Clinic for taking such wonderful care of Larry all these years.  We feel Larry survived as long as he did because of his care. We also want to thank Mayo Hospice, especially Ellyn, Laura and Jackie along with Comfort Care and Kim who took such good care of Larry his last nights.   I want to thank family and friends who were with us through it all.  Sally Weise who made fudge and goodies that Larry loved. Cousins Nancy and Dave Sackmaster and Cheryl Mooney whose visits meant so much to Larry. We are so grateful cousin Tim Boylan could bring his mom, aunt Audrey to visit Larry. 

A Service and Celebration of Larry’s Life will be held on Saturday, June 8, at 2:00 p.m. with visitation an hour before. Pastor Jim Scaife officiating. Memorials preferred to the Church, Coon Creek Fire and Rescue, American Legion Post 116, or charity of your choice.