Craig Gundermann

My husband and best friend, Craig, died March 5,2022

He was born in Madison on July 4th, 1938, the second son of Howard and Evelyn Gundermann. Craig was a "townie", having lived on the west side of Madison all his life. He attended Queen of Peace grade school, Edgewood High School and Loras College, graduating with a degree in business. During the Vietnam crisis he was part of the Army Medical Reserves. But his real passion was history. So after taking courses at UW from many of the premier professors of history at the time, he decided to teach and spent his professional years at Middleton, Sun Prairie and Monona sharing his love of history and civics.

Craig loved fishing, hunting, traveling, and working in his garden. He and brother-in-law Tim began fishing each summer at North Spirit Lake in Canada which eventually became a yearly tradition as many other family members joined them. Hunting became more of an outdoor pleasure for him, enjoying nature rather than the hunt itself. Travels included stays at many US National Parks, Hawaii, China, Switzerland, England, and Scotland where one could always enjoy a sip of local single malt scotch. His garden adventures began every January when stacks of garden and seed catalogs would arrive. He loved growing plants from seed for vegetables but especially became interested in perennials and adding them to the yard.

Craig was a person of strong faith. He began every day by saying, This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it and ending the day with Thank you, Lord, another day with my Ruthie.

Craig and Ruth were married on Aug. 9,1975 and had nearly 48 years of an enviably happy marriage.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Brother Neil, brother-in-law Dan Rullman and sister-in-law Pamela Rullman. He is survived by his wife, Ruthie, brothers-in-law, John and Tim Rullman, sisters-in-law, Marilyn Gundermann, Sandy, and Linda Rullman and 12 very special nieces and nephews.

There will be a private service and burial for family members. The family wishes to thank the ICU staff at St. Mary's for their care, love and respect for Craig during his stay there. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lutheran Church of the Living Christ, SSM Foundation or charity of choice.