Merle A. Evenson

Merle A. Evenson

It is with great sadness, love and admiration that the family of Merle A. Evenson announces his passing on April 19, 2023, at age 88.

Merle was born on July 27, 1934, the son of Ansel and Gladys (Nelson) Evenson. He grew up on his grandfather's farm, the N. Jorgen Nelson Farm, about two miles north of Holmen. He attended the Holmen public schools and graduated from Holmen High School in 1952, where he played basketball and baseball. One local newspaper account described him playing basketball as the "gigantic Merle Evenson". He then attended the UW-LaCrosse where he played four years of baseball and graduated in 1956 with a degree in physics and chemistry.

Merle began his career as a high school science teacher in St. Croix Falls, WI in 1956. In 1957, Merle married the love of his life, Margaret Louise "Peggy" Evenson. In the fall of 1959, because of the Russian launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, scholarships were made available for science and engineering training in the US. Merle was offered and accepted a scholarship to continue his education. He returned to school at UW-Madison where he completed two master's degrees and a Ph.D. in chemistry.

In 1965, Merle accepted a faculty position at UW-Madison, where he worked for over 35 years. He also spent two years on the faculty in the late 1960s at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. He returned to UW-Madison in 1971 as Director of the Analytical Toxicology Laboratory at the University Hospital. He was an advisor to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Agency, the National Bureau of Standards, the American Chemical Society, the American Association of Clinical Chemists, and the National Science Foundation. For more than 30 years, he wrote and revised instrumentation papers and chapters for major textbooks on the use of instrumental analytical chemistry measurements in the clinical laboratory, and for his research interests with metalloproteins and their changes in human health and disease. He mentored and served as major professor for more than 40 undergraduate, master's degree, Ph. D., and post-doctoral students.

He was thrilled to return to the Holmen area in retirement. Being honored with the Holmen Viking Alumni Award and the Maurice Graff Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was very meaningful for him.

Merle had two great passions in life, his work and his family. He was humble, kind, thoughtful, and never put his own needs ahead of those of his family. He was extremely proud and grateful for his parents and the mentors in the Holmen Community where he grew up. He was someone who lived his faith and was a leader by example. He was passionate about helping others achieve their goals, and had the respect of all who knew him, including faculty, support staff, neighbors and more. His family feels so blessed to have had him as a husband and father. He will live on in our hearts forever.

Merle was preceded in death by his parents, Ansel, Gladys, and his beloved wife, Peggy.

He is survived by his daughter, Donna (Mike) Hoffman and son, Dave (Kimberly) Evenson and four grandchildren: Travis Hoffman, Annika Evenson, Andrew Evenson, and Ben Evenson.

Memorial services will be held on Thursday, April 27th at 2:00 p.m. at the Holmen Lutheran Church, 228 Morris Street. Pastor Matt Toso will officiate and burial will be in the Green Mound Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday, April 26th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Dickinson Family Funeral Home, 515 McHugh Rd., Holmen and again at the church on Thursday from 1:00 p.m. until time of services. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.dickinsonfuneralhomes.com.

The family would like to sincerely thank the Willows and Riverside Transitional Care Center for their compassion and care of Merle while he was a resident there.

Memorials in lieu of flowers may be given to Riverside Transitional Care Center, La Crosse, WI, or the Holmen Lutheran Church, Holmen, WI.