Obituary for Vivian J. Strong

Born to Florence (Krause) and Elroy Lamke February 18, 1927, Vivian Josephine Strong was 95 years old when she passed away on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. She grew up on a farm near Coon Valley where she developed an early appreciation for nature and all God’s creatures. The name Vivian means full of vitality, lively, spirited, and exuberant and in that respect, it served as a fitting name. Vivian was blessed with lots of energy and enjoyed being social. She volunteered countless hours with her churches, Hixton Forest nature tours and the Hillview Nursing Home auxiliary for over 20 years. After completing an at-home study program she began her career as a Bookkeeper at Mulder Nursing Home. She moved on to work in similar professional positions at WKBT and Hillview Nursing home. She made friends everywhere she worked and lived, right up through her most recent stay at Brookdale in Onalaska where the caring staff adored her. Vivian married Earl Strong on January 31, the coldest day of 1946. When Earl returned home from the Army, they began to build their first home together in La Crosse. As their family grew, they built their second home in West Salem. Vivian found her best friend in Earl and together they traveled extensively over the years in their motor home enjoying the flora and fauna across the country as well as spending many years enjoying the good life at the Pioneer Park campsite in Lake Delton. Vivian is survived by six children, Rita Loging, Linda (Bill) Adams, Sandi (Terry) Nicolai, Jim (Maxine) Strong, Debbie Strong-Joles, and Nancy Strong as well as eleven grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren. Vivian is also survived by her sisters LaVerne Ness, Jerry Schultz and Elaine Hanson (Dean), as well as her brother Joey Lamke (Pat). She was preceded in death by her husband Earl, parents Florence and Elroy Lamke, brothers in law Paul Ness and Lyle Schultz and sons-in-law, Gene Loging and Jerry Joles. Music was a large part of Vivian’s life. She participated in choirs while in school and with her churches and shared that love of music with her husband and children. Her grandchildren fondly remember campfire sing-alongs at Pioneer Park with Earl on accordion. Vivian loved the anticipation at the first sign of Spring and as a child she considered the first pussy willow branches from the forest to be a prize. She found tremendous joy in her gardens and showing off her flower beds to family and friends. Funeral services will be held at Jandt-Fredrickson funeral home 4239 Mormon Coulee Road, LaCrosse on Saturday May 21. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. and a service will follow at 11 a.m. A light lunch will be served following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Mayo Clinic Hospice Program, American Stroke Foundation or Brookdale Onalaska.