Jouvent Lawrence Roeder, 91 of Jefferson, WI passed away Sunday November 16, 2025 surrounded by loving friends. 

Born May 30, 1934 in Luverne MN, he was the son of Joseph and Philomena Cook Roeder. 

Jouvent came to St. Coletta School in 1949 with his sister Darlene as orphans.  He remained there as a resident and worker for 76 years. 

After completing his education, he developed skills in a litany of occupations at the St. Coletta campus.  

He started as a barber, developed his skills and devotion to the craft, and acquired his own authentic barber’s chair, that he kept with him for the rest of his career.  

During the era that St. Coletta’s was its own self- sustaining campus, he also developed the skills needed to help feed the residents and workers by learning how to butcher the farm animals raised there. 

It was the garden in which he found his love and passion for nature. Being raised on a farm in rural Minnesota, Jouvent had an affinity for growing, cultivating, and harvesting vital food for the school.  

He was most proud when their vegetable and fruit entries into the county fair brought home blue ribbons.  

The fruit orchard is where he learned how to prune, grow, and even graft hundreds of trees which were pristinely manicured, well beyond todays comparisons.  Pruning trees in the middle of winter with bare hands was his favorite job, which to him, felt less like work, and more like pleasure. 

Jouvent loved, respected, and cared for a multitude of different animals: rabbits, goats, peacocks, and his pet dogs brought him years of joy and entertainment. 

His mind was never idle, and often was enveloped in thoughts of his favorite hobbies, which included building model cars, and colleting toy tractors.  He was never one to miss going to the local truck and tractor pulls. He simply was enamored, and couldn’t take his eyes off of the events, spending all day and well into the evening watching the machines roll out coal. 

Our lives are better for having known Jouvent.  He was beloved by many, in the form of a father figure, a brotherly role model, close friend, and a man who spent his life dedicated to helping others. 

His sprit lives in all of us, we will be reminded of him in small quiet moments, when we walk out to our gardens, see a tractor working hard in the field, and spend time with our ever-loving pets. These moments will be evidence to the fact that Jouvent was here; a meaningful reminder to enjoy the simple things in life.  

  A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2025 at the St. Coletta Chapel N4637 County Road Y in Jefferson, Wisconsin. Mass will begin at 1:00pm. Jouvent will be laid to rest at the St. Coletta Cemetery following the service. 

Schneider-Michaelis Funeral Home is assisting the family.