Obituary: Gerald Richard "Jerry" Tschida

Gerald Richard "Jerry" Tschida, 78, of Wrenshall passed away on Jan. 16, 2025, at his home. He was born Sept. 26, 1946, to Richard and Shirley (Sullivan) Tschida in Moose Lake. He was active on the football and track teams before graduating from Moose Lake High School in 1964.

Jerry enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1966, serving on active duty until 1969 and then continuing with the Reserve until 1972. He was stationed aboard the USS Princeton as a corpsman. While on the ship, Jerry recognized what a unique opportunity he had to be a part of the team that picked up the Apollo 10 astronauts and witnessed a nuclear warhead test in Alaska. Though being in the military during the Vietnam War was undoubtedly difficult and still left lasting effects on him, Jerry considered himself "one of the lucky ones" as he was able to truly enjoy his service.

After his honorable discharge, he began nursing school at St. Luke's in Duluth, where he worked as a registered nurse from 1973 until 1999.

Jerry married Renee Paulson on April 24, 1971, in Moose Lake. The couple made their home in Duluth for a short time before settling in Wrenshall in 1974. They became members of St. Francis Catholic Church in Carlton.

Jerry served on the volunteer fire department in Wrenshall. He was also a member of the Carlton VFW and the local woodworking club. In addition to woodworking, he was a man of many hobbies and dedicated a lot of time to doing each of them well. Coin collecting, bird and weather watching, agate picking, photography, stained glass, crosswords, gardening, and coffee time at the restaurant were among his favorite pastimes.

Jerry will be remembered and dearly missed by his wife, Renee; children, Kristie (Matthew) Laveau and Aaron (Megan) Tschida; grandchildren, Kyle and Kaitlyn (Aaron); step-grandchildren, Lydia and Hayden; siblings, Jeanne Hammitt, Jane Klejeski and Rob (Mary) Tschida; brother-in-law, Marvin (Victoria) Paulson; sister-in-law, Ramona Hagen; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers-in-law, George Hagen and Darwin Hammitt.

Visitation: 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, Jan. 23 at St. Francis Catholic Church in Carlton. A lunch will follow. Interment with military honors will be at Silverbrook Cemetery in Wrenshall.

Arrangements by Nelson Funeral Care in Cloquet. To leave an online condolence for the family, sign the online registry at http://www.nelsonfuneralcare.net.

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To read more about Jerry, see this Pine Knot News story from 2023: http://www.pineknotnews.com/story/2023/11/10/news/veterans-day-war-astronauts-and-big-blasts-navy-vet-saw-a-lot-during-his-service/10239.html