SUN PRAIRIE- Charles Thomas “Tom” Leitzke, age 72, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, at UW Health at East Madison Hospital in Madison, Wis. He was born on Oct. 22, 1950, in Madison, Wis., the son of Carl and LaVonne Leitzke (Darrow).

Tom graduated from East High School in Madison, Wis., and was active in DeMolay International as a teenager before attending UW-Madison where he received a bachelor’s degree in Economics. While at UW, he served in the U.S. Army Reserves for five years. During this time, he also began working at the state capitol in Madison as a messenger for the Assembly, where he first met his future wife, Bonnie Ellefson. Tom and Bonnie married in 1973 and moved to Waukesha, Wis., as Tom began his career with the State of Wisconsin, first as a food inspector for the Division of Food Safety in the Department of Agriculture and later as a Bureau Director, overseeing food and dairy safety for the Dairy State for many years. In Waukesha, Tom and Bonnie raised their two children, Jennifer and Brian, until 1992 when they moved to Sun Prairie, Wis.

Following his retirement in 2011, Tom and Bonnie traveled the country, eventually finding a winter home in Green Valley, Ariz., where they spent most winters and many falls over the past several years. There, they made close friends, enjoyed the sun and the heat, picked up new hobbies, traveled the southwest, and relaxed with a beautiful view of the mountains. Tom and Bonnie traveled widely across the country, visiting nearly every state in the continental United States and Hawaii, and took a trip to Europe in 2019, where they visited France, Germany and Switzerland.

Throughout Tom’s life he enjoyed many activities, including hunting, fishing, golfing, and bowling, though reading, following Badgers and Packers football, and keeping up with the news became his favorite pastimes.

Tom is survived by his wife, Bonnie, with whom he celebrated 50 years of marriage this past Sept. 29; children, Jennifer Leitzke and Brian (Annie) Leitzke; grandchildren, Sonia Diaz, William Patrick Tancred and Thomas Tobias Kovacic; great-grandson, Elias James Beres; sister-in-law, Gail Cattell; cousin, Joy (Dan) Stair; and many other relatives and friends including his lifelong friend, Mike (Kathy) Stich. He was preceded in death by his parents.

A memorial service will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 12 noon until the time of the service on Saturday.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420

Charles Leitzke

October 22, 1950 - October 19, 2023

Share photos of Charles