Ronald L. Altnau, Sr.

Ronald Louis Altnau, Sr., age 93, of Ripon, WI, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 8, 2026 at Prairie Place in Ripon.

Ronald was born in Ripon on May 16, 1933, to William and Olga (Mueller) Altnau. He was a member of Our Saviour’s United Church of Christ in Ripon. He attended Ripon Elementary School and went on to graduate from Ripon High School in 1951. After high school, he worked on the Mueller family farms. In 1956, he joined the Army where he served 2 years of active duty and 4 years of active reserves. He completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. He was an Artilleryman Gunner, Mechanic and Instructor on anti-aircraft artillery. He was stationed in Wiesbaden Germany as a mechanic for the remainder of his service. He was honorably discharged in 1962.

Ronald was united in marriage on December 16, 1961, to Iona Auch at Our Saviour’s United Church of Christ in Scotland, SD. He attended the Oshkosh Institute of Technology for Mechanical drafting. After graduation he was employed by Rockwell Standard in Oshkosh, WI. In 1961 he started at Speed Queen in Ripon, WI, where he retired in 1995. During his tenure, he invented various laundry equipment, earning 8 patents.

Ronald was an avid hunter, enjoyed traveling, snowmobiling, playing cards and poker with friends and family. In his free time, he would be at the hunting land or cobbling in his workshop. He was an advocate for the conversancy of nature. You could often find him planting trees or native wildflowers. He was a history buff, especially the Civil War and WWII. He enjoyed watching old western movies and Benny Hill shows. He reveled in spending time playing with his grandchildren, attending their events and making them root beer floats.

He was proceeded in death by his grandparents, Emil & Ida Mueller, Herman & Ana Altnau; parents, William & Olga (Mueller) Altnau; stepmother, Elizabeth (Lamb) Altnau; and half sister, Lois Altnau.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Iona (Auch) Altnau; son, Steven and Kelly (Krupp) Altnau; son, Ronald Jr. and Kerry (Reiter) Altnau; daughter,Julie Leisten; grandchildren, Alyssa Altnau and Camryn Altnau, Ella Altnau, Marena Leisten and Addison Leisten; and great-grandson, Apollo Leisten.

Visitation for Ronald will be held on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 10:00 until 11:00 am at Butzin-Marchant Funeral Home, 515 Mayparty Drive in Ripon, WI, followed by a Memorial Service at 11:00 am. You may view a livestream of the service at 11:00 am by visiting this link LIVESTREAM. Inurnment will follow at Garden of the Cross Cemetery in Ripon, along with a final salute and full military honors.

Because of Ronald’s love of nature, please consider planting a tree in his name using the link below.