Obituary for Duane F. Stark

Duane Francis Stark, 72, of West Salem, WI, died peacefully surrounded by his family at Emplify by Gundersen on Wednesday, May 13. He was born to Francis and Ann (Walsh) Stark in La Crosse, WI. He attended West Salem High School, class of 1972, and Western Wisconsin Technical Institute for the Auto Body Mechanics Program.

On September 13, 1975, he married his beautiful bride, MaryAnn Petras. Last September, they celebrated 50 years of marriage. He was an avid pool player and will always be remembered for racing down 3rd and 4th Streets in La Crosse in his 1974 yellow GTO, with Mary at his side.

Duane worked at Clason Pontiac for six years as an Auto Body Technician before opening and successfully running his own business, Duane’s Body Shop, for over 20 years. He later got into racing at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway. Duane raced Hobby Stock and Sportsman class cars and won his first ever race, often with the support of his dad and his brother Dave in the stands. After racing, he pitted and painted numerous Late Model cars, entering them in car shows and parades, often winning trophies with his Jeff Gordon Dupont look-alike and the Days of Thunder Mello Yello car. No matter whose car he worked on or painted, he would stay up through the night making sure it was perfect for the next week’s races.

His true passion in life was his family, especially his two sons, Tom and Steve. He was there for all their sporting events, cheering them on in all their achievements, no one was prouder. He never forgot any of their sports statistics and would even show their pictures to his customers at Schaller/Jacobson. With Mary and the boys at his side, they enjoyed fishing trips up north, camping, state fairs, getting kicked out of go-kart tracks, sporting events, following the Grass Roots band on the Happy Together Tour, listening to old records, eating too much at buffets, telling stories, fast rides in any car he had, rides on his Harley, family celebrations, watching his grand-dog Winnie on the weekends, being a proud grandpa to Layla and Sawyer, listening to “Dance Monkey” with Layla, reading and cuddling with Sawyer, and of course, those long Duane chats that so many of you experienced.

For over 20 years, as the general manager of Schaller/Jacobson, he enjoyed interacting with customers and spending each day talking with his technicians. After retirement, he worked part-time for the Berghefer family at Creative Screen Print. He was always a hard worker, fussy with any project or car, would drop everything to help someone in need, and always making sure everything was done to perfection.

Duane is survived by his loving wife, MaryAnn, of 50 years; his son, Tom (Ashley) Stark and their children, Layla Stark and Sawyer Stark, of Rockland, WI; his son, Steve Stark of West Salem, WI; and his brother, Dave (Deb) Stark of Onalaska, WI. He is also survived by his brothers- and sisters-in-law, Tom and Dorothy Hickey of Noblesville, IN, Marilyn Ketterer of Madison, WI, and Sherri Petras of Onalaska, WI, and along with many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Duane was preceded in death by his parents, Francis and Anne Stark; his sister-in-law, Rosalind Fries; his brother-in-law, Paul Petras; and his nephews, AJ Petras and Brian Ketterer.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on May 30, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., at St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish, 210 W. Hamlin St., West Salem. Msgr. Jeffrey D. Burrill will celebrate the Mass. A visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m., until the time of Mass, at the church.

Online condolences can be left for the family on this site.