Merrill Eugene Gutzmer Jr.

Merrill Eugene Gutzmer, Jr., 53, of Pine Island, went to be with Jesus on Saturday, September 15, 2018, surrounded by loved ones in his home. Eugene was born on March 31, 1965, in Fort Atkinson, WI, to M. Eugene, Sr. and Sharon (Shober) Gutzmer. He graduated from Whitewater High School in 1983 and went on to study electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. During his time at college he met and married his wife and best friend, Julie (March) Gutzmer. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 1988, and spent his entire professional career - 30 years - as an electrical engineer at IBM (with a brief stint at Adaptec) in Rochester. In his personal life, Eugene was a firm believer in the gospel of Jesus Christ and led his family in submitting to God's leading throughout his life. He was an active member and elder at Good News Evangelical Free Church in Pine Island, MN, selflessly loving and serving the Lord and his church family. He loved trains and would take any opportunity to find and watch them with his family. He also enjoyed operating model trains and attended many operating sessions with the River Rail group in La Crosse, WI. Eugene was an avid Green Bay Packers fan and raised his kids to follow suit as they grew up in enemy territory. He was very fond of solving puzzles; one of his favorite hobbies was geocaching, and he incorporated that into many family road trips across the United States. He completed the Cache Across America series with his family over a nine-year period, which involved finding a specific cache in each state and culminated with one final puzzle in Washington, D.C. Eugene is survived by his wife of 32 years, Julie, of Pine Island; five children, Joel of Green Bay, WI, Joshua (Veronica) of Louisville, KY, Esther of Sheboygan, WI, and Josiah and Jonathan of Pine Island. He is also survived by his mother, Sharon, of Whitewater, WI; four siblings, Debbie (Dave) Johnson of Fort Atkinson, WI; Linda (David) Nehlsen of Whitewater, WI; Stephen (Monica) of Asuncion, Paraguay; Nancy (Tom) Wegner of Rochester, MN, as well as 23 nieces and nephews and 11 great-nieces and nephews. He has gone to heaven to join his grandparents, father, son (Joseph), and two nephews, who all knew the Lord and preceded him in death. A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 19, 2018, at Calvary Evangelical Free Church, 5500 25th Ave NW, Rochester, MN 55901. The visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes, 5421 Royal Place NW Rochester, MN 55901 and also one hour before the service at the church. Interment will be in the Pine Island Cemetery. Memorials are preferred to Good News Evangelical Free Church, PO Box 991, Pine Island, MN 55963. Arrangements are with Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes. To share a special memory please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com