October 21, 2022 | 23 comments 2022 at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse Yugoslavia (Slovenia) to John and Josephine Gruden on April 14 John’s family came to the United States as displaced persons following WWII The family lived in former concentration camps in Spittal and Lienz Austria for four years where his dad served as Camp Superintendent The Immigration Act of 1949 allowed the family to come to the U.S The family was scheduled to locate to Brazil John was eleven when they arrived; he immediately was attracted to sports and theatre to help him work around the language barrier He graduated from Gilbert High School in 1956 and Winona State University in 1960 with a major in Mathematics he worked during the summer in the local iron ore mines and performed masonry work to pay for school John initially taught math until he followed up with a Master’s degree in Guidance from Winona State while attending night school John was employed by the La Crosse School District for 35 years at Lincoln Jr High School as a Guidance Counselor John’s passion was sports; followed closely by clothes and shoes John was also a Minnesota Viking fan; fortunately He was recognized for 50 years of service as an official John ran the annual summer baseball league at Emerson field for several years John touched 1000s of lives as both a counselor and referee; he thoroughly enjoyed impacting young people’s lives John’s pride and joy were his sons John and Steve; John was athletic and studious while Steve was artistic and a free-spirit John enjoyed parenting and guiding them to their long-term goals John’s heart was broken when both sons died in early adulthood with promising careers They spent the majority of their married lives in La Crescent; with the later years living in La Crosse/Onalaska They relished the opportunity to visit their children and grandchildren in Colorado and California John and Shan were proud of their Catholic faith; it provided the spiritual foundation in their lives John is survived by his wife Shan; sisters Val Selleck and Mary (Bob) Hall; children Jody (Lynn) Fiedorowicz Emma Fiedorowicz (Carlsbad); niece Angel Johnson (Britt Preceding John in death were his two beloved sons John and Steve; his father John and Mother Josephine; Frank Gruden (brother); Anastasia Special thank you to Dr Beahm at Mayo Clinic for being such a thoughtful and caring physician A memorial service will be held at 11:00am Friday, November 11th, 2022 at The Gathering Place, 133 Mason St, Onalaska, WI. Visitation will be from 10:00am until time of service, with lunch immediately following at 12:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the “John Paul Gruden Memorial Scholarship” John – we will all have a final drink of Slivovicz to toast your life on earth Gruden was one of our first little league coaches down at Copeland Park He was a good guy who cared about the kids and made sure the games were fun He also did alot of umpiring and refereeing even into his later years He was always enjoyable to talk to and would make you laugh with some of his officiating experiences Gruden was loved and well liked by so many people John and Shan were such good friends to my mom for so many years John and I officiated on the same football crew for a number of years and we were fortunate to work the Div 3 state championship in 08 John emptied his pockets of several dozen hand warmers he picked up on the field who was living history with his stories of his childhood in the concentration camps I was fortunate to get to know John at the golf course His smiling greeting was a great start to the day There was never a dull moment with the “kidding” going on Fondly remembering all the shared good times over the years Sharing a pot of coffee or going on an adventure Then my guidance counselor at Lincoln and friend from there on Great coach of fundamentals both on the field and in life I’ll see you again some day…….you will be missed…… Gruden reffed many basketball games I played in always displaying such a positive and encouraging personality He was always interested in our lives outside of sports John was such a wonderful man and helped so many teens at Lincoln I first met John as a fellow student/athlete at Winona State College in 1960 He was an outstanding Christian man who practiced what he taught he became a wonderful role model for everyone who he touched through education We have been blessed to have known him and to have learned from him The man who taught me how to hit a baseball It was educational hearing him tell his story I hope the condolences listed at this site are of comfort to you John did make a difference in the lives of his friends I had the privilege of working with John as his teaching colleague at Logan Junior High School in the early 1960’s his sense of humor and his passion for teaching My father enjoyed many a cribbage game with John He was a wonderful guidance counselor at Lincoln and so patient with me helping me with my math while I worked 4th hour in the office Wish I had known about his interesting life before I remember John as our guidance counselor at Lincoln back…well Even though we didn’t have regular contact because of course I didn’t need guidance back then he definitely made an indelible mark with his kindness And whenever his NFL coach namesake was mentioned I always thought of “our John” and wondered how he was doing Thank you to those that shared your connection with John…makes me wish we had reconnected after we moved back to the area Condolences to all of you on the loss of John ever forget those summers I got to spend with him at Emerson playing baseball! patient and encouraging man who made our summers so much better Gruden was a favorite teacher of mine at Logan He was looked up to as a teacher ,coach and a wonderful person you looked up to He kept me in my place as I was growing up and taught me to be a kind person and competitive athlete in my years of growing up Sincerely I just learned of John’s death today as you learn to live your lives without John in it But I truly believe that you will be together again