Today when Wisconsin residents pass a flag, it will be at less than full mast....and the world will have been diminished by the loss of a great man, a father, a husband, brother, uncle....and a friend.
Rod Nilsestuen, Secretary of Agriculture for the state of Wisconsin drowned in Lake Superior on July 21st while on an outing with his church working for Habitat for Humanity. Working for a cause that he believed in to Rod meant giving it his all....his all far more than most people could imagine giving.....he did it to causes he loved, the family he cherished, the job he dedicated his time to in serving the state.
Rod is one of the people that you have in your life that is so much more than a memory....and the kind of person no matter how much time had passed, you knew you could pick up the phone...or see him for coffee, lunch...and it would be as though you just talked yesterday even though years may have passed....we had that experience a couple years ago when he came to New Berlin and spoke at the library. He never aged...the gray blended well with the wavy platinum locks and quick wit paired with the twinkle in his eye and easy laugh....I can hear it as the tears flow now and know that I won't hear it again.....
Rod grew up in Arcadia,Wisconsin...just outside of LaCrosse...a farming community...I know his brothers Randy and Kent who now farm the land that their father before them farmed for decades. He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin River Falls...past President of the Student Senate, a valued member of Theta Chi Fraternity and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School.
His career expanded when he was appointed as the Secretary of Agriculture by Governor Jim Doyle in 2003...the political party probably would not have mattered...to Rod or the people he worked with ...his relaxed style had long ago made friends on both sides of the aisle...and so it continued all his life...a life cut too short...a life well lived...friends and associates pouring in their condolences from around the globe.
He led initiatives to explore how to protect Wisconsin’s working lands, build the state’s renewable energy and biofuels sectors, and strengthen dairy farming. He provided encouragement and support to the state’s organic farming sector and local foods movement.
Before being named ag secretary, he was President & CEO of the former Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives from 1978-2002--building WFC into a statewide association for more than 700 rural and urban co-ops throughout Wisconsin. Under his leadership, WFC has become an organization which plays a significant role in both state affairs and in national cooperative circles.
Bill Berry is a newspaper columnist and was a student at River Falls when Rod was President of the Student Senate and said his good byes better than I ever could:
Rod Nilsestuen had an impact on many lives. I was a most unworldly freshman at UW-River Falls when he first touched mine. Rod was the straight-laced president of the student body. In the spring of 1970, he called a student meeting in response to the Kent State massacre. The gymnasium was packed that day at “Moo U.” We voted to go on strike in response to Kent State. At that very moment, I was transformed into an activist, thanks in no small part to Rod Nilsestuen.
The sky is crying today, as yet another drenching rain falls on the land Rod Nilsestuen loved. Those of us who knew him are drenched in memories. I know what Rod would say. He’d tell us to get on with our work, because time is short and there is much to be done. We’ll do that, Rod, but not before we pause to remember a great man.
It sounds empty and feels emptier and insufficient and so lacking to say that he will be deeply missed by many people in the whole world that he helped to make a better place...i know that this is not the kind of blog many people will read start to finish....or many people will know how whether you live in Wisconsin or not, the work that Rod did nationally and internationally may have impacted your life. It doesn't matter...I know....and in this very, very small way....this blog is how I am choosing to honor his memory and will share it with the family that will miss him all the days of their lives.
When you see that flag today....take a minute....say thank you Rod....for the time you shared with us all to make the world a better place.
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