Simple Genius: The Lasting Legacy of Roland Beranek
April 21, 2025
| By La Crosse Community Foundation |
Roland “Rollie” Beranek wasn’t flashy. He didn’t care for fancy clothes or big crowds. In fact, it took him two years to say a word to his neighbor Barb Erickson. But once Rollie decided you were part of his circle, you were in for life — and in for a good laugh, a deep lesson, or both.
“He was our neighbor, but also so much more,” Barb said. “He filled the space in our lives after we lost our fathers. Our family kind of adopted him, and I think he adopted us right back.”
A resourceful innovator
A lifelong river dweller, World War II Army veteran, and longtime Trane Company employee, Rollie was a one-of-a-kind mix of inventor, outdoorsman, and quiet genius. He built his own house. Heated with a wood stove. Caught his own dinner. And when the Trane crew needed tools to reach bolts in tricky spots, they came to Rollie — because he could design a solution on the spot.
“He’d take perfectly good tools, cut them in half, weld them back together, and create something totally new,” Barb said. “That was his job. He was the guy who made the impossible possible.”
Rollie’s story is now preserved through the Roland J. Beranek Fund at La Crosse Area Community Foundation. The fund supports hands-on STEM programs, outdoor education, and environmental learning, especially for kids. Think robotics teams, marsh hikes in borrowed boots, and first-time fishing trips. Every dollar is used to spur curiosity and self-reliance in the next generation, just the way Rollie lived.
In his final years, as dementia crept in, Rollie appointed Barb and her husband, Dave (to whom he was especially close), as his guardians. The appointment came with a small payment from the court system. “We never expected to be paid for it. We didn’t do it for the money,” said Barb. “So we used that money to start something that would carry Rollie’s legacy forward. We wanted his spirit to continue.”
Beauty in simplicity and purpose
And what a spirit it was.
Rollie lived simply but with purpose. He rollerbladed into his 80s. He built cement retaining walls by hand, mixing river sand and concrete with tools he designed himself. He loved candy bars, Mountain Dew, and deer hunting — though as Dave remembers, the deer often got the last laugh.
“One time he was bow hunting and dropped all three arrows out of the crossbow before he could shoot,” Dave said. “The deer just looked at him, walked around the tree, and left. He told the story like it was no big deal. But when we got in the truck to go home, he was steaming.”
Rollie didn’t have kids of his own, but he adored the Ericksons’ children and grandchildren. He’d dig worms with their grandson. He’d build fishing lures from tinfoil saved from Meals on Wheels trays. He believed deeply in using what you had, and he could turn scraps into something useful, or even beautiful.
“He had this folding chair in the backyard — his thinking chair,” Barb said. “He’d sit out there with his arms crossed and just think. Then he’d get up and build something. That chair now sits in our yard, facing the river.”
A heart for helping
The fund in Rollie’s name continues that legacy. From robotics clubs to youth trapping programs, Rollie’s fund supports practical learning, creative problem-solving, and getting kids outside. It reminds us that brilliance can be quiet. That wealth can come from frugality. And that impact doesn’t require a stage — just a heart for helping.
“We want people to know that anyone can make a difference,” Barb said. “You don’t have to be flashy. You don’t have to be loud. You just have to care.”