David W. Rudrud March 7, 1950 - October 22, 2024

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David W. Rudrud
March 7, 1950  -  October 22, 2024

Holmen

GMHOF - 1996 - George Martin Wrestling Hall of Fame (Wisconsin)
https://www.wiwrestlinghofhonorees.org/alpha/r/rudrud-david/

https://www.dickinsonfuneralhome.com/obituaries/David-W-Rudrud?obId=33502037

David W. Rudrud Obituary
David W. Rudrud, age 74, of Trempealeau, WI, passed away on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at Gundersen Medical Center in La Crosse, WI. He was born in LaCrosse, WI on March 7, 1950, to David and Laurie (Robertson) Rudrud. He graduated from Logan High School in 1968 and UW-LaCrosse in 1972. He married Nancy Kennedy in 1969. Together they had 2 children: William Michael (Bill) and Kristina Lee (Tina). They later divorced in 2017. Dave found love again with his partner, Kevin Maass.

Dave made the most of every opportunity and guided everyone he met to do the same. After a childhood filled with mischief and fun with his siblings and many cousins, he went on to adulthood and continued all kinds of shenanigans including a letter war with his mom and mischievous mailings of the Jack of Clubs for grins and giggles. After graduation from UWL, he briefly worked for Trane Co. and then launched the career that transformed his life - teaching and coaching.

Dave was a top-notch educator who loved history and social studies. For more than 30 years, Dave helped students learn about the world - encouraging all to think critically about problems both large and small, and how they could make a difference. He thought learning should be hands-on and organized many trips for students to learn first- hand, including Chicago and Washington DC. Dave will be remembered for his dedication to teaching, love of learning, and commitment to making the world a better place.

As unlikely as it sounds, Dave attended his very first wrestling match as an Assistant Coach in Brainerd, Minnesota. Dave was the head track coach and friends with the head wrestling coach, they agreed to help each other that first season and the rest is history.

Dave went on to coach wrestling at Holmen High School from 1977 until 2004. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1996. He coached his teams to win when it was against the odds. He understood the sport of wrestling and he knew kids. He was Coach and when he 'let you know' mat-side, everyone listened. His legacy includes these impressive stats - 8 regional titles, 2 sectional titles and 1 team sectional championship. A 3rd place finish in the state in 1988, 42 state qualifiers, including 6 state champions and 5 second place finishers. A dual meet record of 146-32.

In addition to his wrestling coaching career at Holmen, Dave was a visionary leader in the sport of wrestling. He founded the Bi-State Classic in 1982, overcoming early hurdles to leave a lasting impact on the wrestling community. The success of the Bi-State Classic is a testament of Dave's dedication to the sport of wrestling.

At various times throughout this teaching career, Dave coached sports in the Spring and Fall (Wrestling off-season). He was also coach for Boys Cross Country, Girls Cross Country, Boys Golf, and Girls Golf. Dave wasn't a runner, instead he rode his bike with kids to be able to coach the whole time. He was a head coach for a combined 56 seasons between all sports.

Dave's devotion to the sport of wrestling included being one of the most active volunteer leaders within USA Wrestling for many years. He served on the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and numerous standing committees. Dave was named USA Wrestling Kids Man of the Year in 1986 and USA Wrestling Man of the Year in 1987.

After Dave retired from teaching, he drove a Charter bus for Tours and thoroughly enjoyed traveling the country, sharing his love of history, and making many new friends.

In his final career, Dave mixed his lifetime love of 'projects' and helping people to build all the things. He sold Walters steel metal buildings and was a general contractor for multitudes of friends, family, and community members.

Dave was an avid social media user, often posting pictures and updates about his latest projects, adventures, and travels. His online presence was a testament to his enthusiasm for life and desire to connect with others. Since passing, countless friends, family members, and other connections have shared their memories of Dave online, creating a beautiful digital memorial to his life.

He is survived by his children, Bill (Debra) Rudrud of Onalaska, Kristina (Darin) Blomquist of Aurora, CO, grandchildren, Nick Rudrud, Abby Rudrud, Parker Blomquist, and Reese Blomquist, By two sisters, Cynthia (Richard) Potthast of Poynette, WI, Patricia (David) Virnig of Waunakee, WI and brother Michael (Vickie) Rudrud of Sarasota, FL.



He was preceded in death by his parents, David F. Rudrud and Laurie Rudrud, his in-laws Lloyd R. Kennedy and JoAnn Kennedy, and sister-in-law Sandy Sarazin.

A Time of Remembrance will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at the La Crosse Center South Ballroom, 300 Harborview Plaza. A visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. until time of remembrance service.

The family requests no flowers please.

Information and on-line condolences may be given to the family at www.dickinsonfuneralhomes.com.

The Dickinson Family Funeral Homes and Crematory is assisting the family with arrangemen
Seek excellence and truth instead of fame -John Prime
Courage is grace under pressure - Ernest Hemingway
Advocating "matside weigh-in" since 1997
"That's why they wrestle the matches"

Grapl