Jerry E. Errath

Jerry Edward Errath, born May 5th, 1940, passed away peacefully at Angels’ Grace Hospice on Thursday, October 30th, 2025 (85 years), after a challenging and courageous 13-year journey with end stage kidney disease.

Beloved husband of Diane, loving father to his daughter Tracy (Joe McGoldrick) and son Todd (the late Andrea), and wonderful grandpa to his grandson, Dalton Errath. He was also loved and will be missed by many other relatives, caring friends and an amazing team of medical professionals.

Jerry received amazing care from so many wonderful and caring doctors, nurses and technicians over the years, and the family thanks all of them for their expertise and kindness. A special “Thank You” is to be extended to the fantastic Prohealth Care Palliative and Hospice teams at Waukesha Memorial, specifically Jessica Mauer, NP and Sierra Hammond, RN. Further, Jerry received the most gracious and empathetic care from Prohealth Home Hospice, specifically Brenda Hernandez, RN and ultimately, from the compassionate staff at Angel’s Grace.

Jerry first met his beautiful wife, Diane, while they attended Wauwatosa Highschool (now Wauwatosa East), but did not begin dating until they met again after high school while working at Marshall Field’s at Mayfair Mall. They eventually married on February 6^th, 1965, and lived briefly in Wauwatosa before buying a house in Brookfield in 1966. They spent the next 48 years in that home building a life and family together, before moving to a condominium community in New Berlin. Jerry was a graduate of MSOE, and had a successful career as a refrigeration engineer, spending the last 30+ years working at Vilter Manufacturing in Milwaukee/Cudahy. He and his work colleagues had a great rapport, celebrating birthdays, holidays and company milestones with fun and laughter, with several of those people becoming lifelong friends.

After suffering a stroke in his late 60s, Jerry was diagnosed with a form of MS and Stage 4 kidney disease, which required him to retire from Vilter. He eventually began dialysis in his early 70s, then spent the next twelve and half years going to dialysis three days a week. He never let the weight of this burden break his spirit, and he continued to live a joyful and fulfilling life. He and Diane would take numerous day trips to fun locations throughout the state, whether it was to an antique mall, a tourist attraction or even just to get a brat and ice cream. Each summer, they would spend a relaxing week in their favorite spot, Fish Creek in Door County, Wisconsin, enjoying the beach, the food and the scenery.

Jerry had a passion for motorized vehicles, owning several convertibles and motorcycles throughout his life. He also enjoyed watching sports, reading, learning about the history of people, places and things and all of the family pets, which included 2 dogs, 3 cats and countless “grand-pets” of Tracy and Todd. His true love, though, was food, which would often clash with his kidney disease dietary restrictions, yet he never let that ruin a meal or keep him from enjoying the items he loved most. Some of his favorites were created by his late daughter-in-law, Andrea, who would spoil him often with specials meals and desserts.

Visitation will be at Krause Funeral Home, 12401 West National Avenue, New Berlin, WI on Saturday, November 22^nd from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM with a Celebration of Life Service to immediately follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Best Friend’s Animal Sanctuary, or Prohealth Angel’s Grace Hospice.

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