Vicki A. Gilbertson

Vicki A. Gilbertson, age 74, of Onalaska, WI, passed away on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. She was born September 4, 1951, in La Crosse, WI, the daughter of Ronald and Dolores Roach.

Vicki graduated from La Crosse Central High School, Class of 1969, then went to Western Wisconsin Technical College, earning a degree as a dental assistant. Vicki married her high school sweetheart, Mark, in April of 1970.

Vicki was a very talented seamstress. Vicki began doing bridal alterations at House of Victoria, where she worked for several years, eventually managing the store. She also worked at Charlotte’s Bridal. She could sew anything, creating fantastic Halloween costumes for her kids when they were little, prom dresses, and even wedding dresses. She helped countless contestants with their dresses for Miss La Crosse, Miss Onalaska and Miss Wisconsin. Later in her career, Vicki worked as a receptionist at Coulee Bank before becoming a Loan Officer at Altra Federal Credit Union, where she worked until she retired in 2017.

Vicki was a member of the La Crosse Oktoberfest Grenadier Corps and made many special friends over the years. She enjoyed escorting past royal family members, going to many parades, and traveling five times to Winnipeg, Canada for Festival du Voyageur as an Oktoberfest ambassador. She enjoyed escorting Festmaster Ted Dewald and Frau Marlene to the Festmaster Ball every year.

Vicki was active in the Onalaska community and was the brainchild for bringing the Giant Sunfish to Onalaska after seeing the fish sculptures on a vacation to Hayward. She worked with then-Mayor Stellner to make it a reality. While her kids were young, she was always involved in their activities, volunteering in parent groups or booster clubs, serving as President of Onalaska Summer Swim Team and Onalaska Sunfish Days organizational committee. More recently, Vicki had found enjoyment in riding around with Mark in their 2025 Stingray Corvette Convertible, and they were members of the River City Corvette Club. Vicki also loved to travel, especially going on warm cruises. She made many special memories cruising with friends. While she loved to travel, she didn’t enjoy flying so much, so she and Mark traveled by train, visiting the Northwest, traveling up and down the California coast, taking trips to Southern California, and of course, several train rides to Florida to catch a cruise. Her favorite destination was always St. Thomas, US V.I. to shop at Grand Jewelers.

Vicki adored her grandchildren. She was an extremely proud grandma and great grandma and attended their events whenever she was able. She loved supporting them in doing what they enjoyed, whether it was a softball or baseball game, swim meet, football game, Miss La Crosse and Miss Onalaska pageants or go-kart racing.

Vicki is survived by her husband of almost 56 years, Mark Gilbertson; children, Erik (Lynnaus) Gilbertson, Michael (Stacy) Gilbertson, and Christy (Jamie) Woods; grandchildren, Thomas, Katelin, Todd, Mikala, Mattie, Erin, and Owen; two great grandchildren, Adalyn & John; her brother Robert (Lynn) Roach; Brother in-laws David (Susan) Gilbertson, John Gilbertson, and Paul (Sara) Gilbertson; several nieces and nephews; her special foreign exchange daughter Rena, and her beloved Labradors Molly, Nellie, and Muckie.

Preceding Vicki in death are her parents, Ron & Doe Roach.

A memorial gathering will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at Schumacher-Kish Funeral Home, 907 Sand Lake Road, Onalaska, WI, with a prayer service to follow at 7:00 p.m. A private family inurnment will take place at Oak Grove Cemetery.

A celebration of Vicki’s life will be held Sunday, April 12th, 2026 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the American Legion in Onalaska.

Memorial donations in Vicki’s memory may be made to Oktoberfest USA, noted to Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest.