Bruce O. Landsverk

Bruce Landsverk, 77, of Freedom, Wisconsin, died peacefully on Wednesday, June 1, at Brewster Village in Appleton following a long battle with heart disease.

Bruce was born on September 28, 1944, to Orrie and Leona (Pues) Landsverk. He lived in Neenah and Menasha for most of his early life, often visiting family and friends in Navarino. He attended Trinity Lutheran School in Neenah and Fox Valley Lutheran, where he was the football MVP and set several passing records that stood for more than 50 years.

He married Mina Ward on June 19, 1965, and they had four sons, Bart in 1966, Bret (Rocky) in 1967, Wade (Dobber) in 1969, and Adam in 1975. They lived in Navarino, Black Creek, and Oshkosh before moving to Freedom in 1974. They’ve stayed in their Freedom home ever since.

Bruce worked for LM Berry and sold Yellow Pages advertising for more than 20 years, then went into semi-retirement with Sprister Administrators in 1995. He eventually owned that business before fully retiring in 2009.

Bruce was an excellent athlete who played for Navarino and Freedom in the Dairyland Baseball League, winning league MVP honors and a title with Navarino. He co-founded the Freedom High School Booster Club and was also co-founder of the Freedom Little League program. He is in two sports Halls of Fame (Navarino and Freedom). He was also an avid golfer, golfing in Freedom leagues and running an annual golf outing with best friend Jim Brockman, who beat him to Heaven by just over a year. He hunted his entire life in Navarino, leading the Art Cole Gang which included the Pues family.

The pride of Bruce’s life and center of his attention were Mina, his sons, and their 10 grandchildren, the youngest of which, 10-month-old Orrie, is named after Bruce’s father and has Bruce’s middle name. Bart and Kay (Boettcher) of Kaukauna have two children, Tori (Sam Joski) and Erik. Rocky and Angie (Venturini) of Waupaca have two children, Marisa (Aaron Bauer) and Mike. Wade and Jennifer (Kleist) of Freedom have three children, Nick (Taylor Falck), Alex, and Maddie. Adam and Marin (Tuchscherer) of Appleton have three children, Max, Sam, and Orrie.

Bruce is survived by his sister, Janice Waush (Ray) of Shawano, and her children, Wanda (Joe Pleshek), Kurt, and Kent. He was preceded in death by brother-in-law and lifelong friend Ray, and nephew Kyle.

Bruce is also survived by brother-like cousin Jerry (Sandy) Landsverk of Neenah and their children, Greg (Jennifer), Gerry (Dawn), and Vickie Smead. He was preceded in death by Vickie’s husband Ron.

Bruce was preceded in death by his parents and a sister Joan, who died at birth.

The funeral for Bruce will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, at the First English Lutheran Church North Site, 6331 N. Ballard Road, Appleton. Visitation will be 4:00  to 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 9:00 to 11 a.m. on Saturday at the church. Interment will be at Bethesda Cemetery in Navarino.  For online condolences please visit www.verkuilenfh.com. 

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