Lucie K. Retzer

Lucie K. Retzer, age 92, passed peacefully on Saturday, February 18, 2023 surrounded by her children.  She is in heaven now, fulfilling the promise of her strong faith.

A funeral mass for Lucie will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 25^th at Saint Katharine Drexel Catholic Church in Beaver Dam, with Father Onildo Orellana Diaz presiding, with a visitation preceding from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Interment will be at St. Peter Cemetery and a reception following the burial will be held at the Parish Center.

Lucie was born November 23, 1930 in Himmelwitz, Germany to Vincent and Rafaela Krzyk (nee Prokscha).  She married Viktor Rodewald on November 8, 1951 and in 1961, with six children, they emigrated to America, where Viktor took up his trade as a baker in Waterloo, Wisconsin, before passing away in 1966.

Alone in a foreign land, Lucie learned to speak English fluently (her third language) and made a life for her and her family in Beaver Dam, getting her GED and attending night school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse.

She will be remembered as a strong woman who raised 6 children as a single working mother. Her Catholic faith was the bedrock that sustained her through good times and bad.  Her love of nature, generosity and kindness touched all who knew her.

In 1984 she married Francis (“Fran”) Retzer of Beaver Dam, who shared her devotion to the Catholic faith, and they retired to Palm Coast, Florida.  Fran passed away in 1993.

Lucie is survived by siblings: Elizabeth Pinkawa (Jemielnica, Poland), Mathilda Garcorz (Tacherting, Germany), Adelheid Smykalla (Sendernhorst, Germany), Georg Krzyk (Munich, Germany),  six children: Barbara (Al) Cyskiewicz of Waukeha, Tony (Debbie) Rodewald of Beaver Dam, Edy (Greg Patz) Rodewald, of Anchorage, Alaska, Greg (Mary) Rodewald of Beaver Dam, George (Linda) Rodewald of Oconomowoc, Lidia (Dave Schneider) Rodewald of Anchorage, Alaska, a step daughter-in-law: Patty Retzer of Charlotte, Michigan, 16 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, 2 step grandchildren, and 4 step great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents and parents-in-law, two husbands, her sister Mary Wolny, and her step son Gerry Retzer.

Please honor Lucie’s memory by contributing to the St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery in Bunnell, Florida, which serves the Polish and Catholic people of Volusia County, where she worshiped regularly as a beloved member.  (Donations can be made online at https://bunnellcarmelites.org/donations?mibextid=tejx2t or sent to: Saint Joseph’s Carmelite Monastery, 141 Carmelite Drive, Bunnell, FL  32110)

The Koepsell-Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam is serving the family.  Online Condolences may be made at www.koepsellfh.com.