Emily M. Strutt

Emily Mary Strutt, 42, was born on Christmas day: December 25, 1983, and peacefully went to her eternal home on April 24, 2026. Her final days were both joyously and tearfully filled with the voices and presence of her family and the incredible staff members of the ICU unit of Emplify Health System in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

She is survived by her parents: Dawson & Jackie Strutt, siblings: Erin (Marc) Ruden, Derek (Stephanie Trilli) Ostrem, Tyler (Jyoti Sidhu) Ostrem, and Kjerstin (Joey) Dellenbach; nieces and nephews: Sevyn & Ryver Ostrem; Leighton, Preston, Ellie & Michael Dellenbach; and Mya Ruden; grandmother: Genevieve Lenser; aunts and uncles: Randy Lenser, Charles & Janet Strutt, David and Marci Strutt, Craig & Terri Strutt, and Darci Strutt, and 18 cousins. She was preceded in death by grandparents: Ron Lenser, Don & Joanne Strutt; uncle: Michael McQuiston; cousin: Jaclyn Strutt; and nephew: Jackson Ellerbach.

Emily and Erin embraced their new mom, brothers, and sister with boundless joy and happiness. She was active in basketball & volleyball, as well as in music & theater. She enjoyed being a percussionist in the band program, and a member of the concert & show choir programs at Onalaska HS. She and her dad shared a love of everything “sci-fi and fantasy”, with many shared moments in the worlds of “The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings”, “Star Wars”, and “Harry Potter”, along with a fierce determination to annoy the rest of the family with their love of puns; as she always told her dad: “one can never have enough PUN, after all!”. Emily was the best ‘gift-giver’ of the family, and everyone always looked forward to receiving an “Emily gift” for their birthday or Christmas.

As an adult Emily embraced traveling with family to destinations that included not only trips around America (Florida, New Orleans, NYC, Washington DC, Denver) trips to France, Spain, Italy, The Vatican, Greece, Turkey, England, Scotland, Wales, and Canada, along with cruises to the Caribbean and Mexico. She enjoyed all of her work experiences, but especially relished working at OptumServe Health (formerly Logistics Health) in service of meeting the health needs of our country’s veterans.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday May 2, 2026 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Onalaska with a visitation from 9:30 a.m. until service time. The Seland Funeral Home is assisting the family. Condolences may be given at selandsfuneralhome.com.

Any donations made on Emily’s behalf will be donated to either:

1. The (LaCrosse) Freedom Honor Flight to support local veterans.

2. The (LaCrosse) Alzheimer’s Association, in honoring the memory of her beloved grandpa Ron Lenser and uncle Michael McQuistin, who suffer(ed) from Alzheimer’s.