Douglas Vincent Baumann, 68, of La Crosse, WI, passed away peacefully February 26, 2023 at his home. Doug was born in Springfield, MN on May 14, 1954 to Vincent and Germaine (Solyntjes) Baumann. Doug attended St. Raphael’s Catholic School thru 8 th grade and graduated in1972 from Springfield Public High School, Springfield, MN He married Kay Matter on April 20, 1975 at St. Raphael’s Catholic Church in Springfield, MN.  After graduating from High School Doug worked for Hornick Farm Supply until 1978, at which time he purchased Baumann Oil Company, a bulk petroleum distributorship and The Oil Well, a computerized gas station. In his hometown of Springfield, MN Doug was a member of the Springfield Fire Department, the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, a Rotarian and served on the Board of Directors at the Springfield Country Club as secretary and president. Doug joined Prudential in September 1983 as an agent in the Springfield, MN area. An ad was placed in the local newspaper introducing the new ‘rock star” and Prudential starting calling him Rocky. To everyone he worked with he was known as Rocky Baumann. Three years later Prudential Insurance Company promoted Doug to division
manager in La Crosse, WI. In 1991 Doug continued his financial services career with The Equitable Company in La Crosse where he won numerous awards as an Equitable advisor, including two awards that were presented to Doug in Paris, France. Doug continued his career with AXA/Equitable until 2001 when he started his own company, Momentum Financial Group. Doug finished his financial career with Momentum Financial Group in 2018, having helped hundreds of retirees in the Wisconsin and Minnesota areas retire with confidence.
In his early years, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and golfing. Locally, Doug was an active member of The Golf Club at Cedar Creek. As an avid golfer, he was fortunate to have achieved two Hole-in-ones. Doug was active socially, loved to party, and was often the center of attention. Blessed with the gift of gab, he always had a story ready to tell and loved to make others laugh. Doug also enjoyed sports. Even with his deep roots stemming from his early years in Minnesota, Doug developed a deep fondness for Wisconsin’s sports teams. He followed the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Brewers each season. Doug and Kay also “accidentally” found themselves developing a fondness for hockey. They served a 3 year stint as “Billets” for the local junior hockey team, the Coulee Region Chill. During this time, they opened their home as host parents and were able to help several young hockey players achieve their dream of playing college hockey.
During his later years, Doug’s mobility began to wane, forcing the use of scooters for his transportation. He didn’t let that slow him down however. Doug looked forward to his daily scooter trips with his dog Buffy to go and visit with neighborhood friends. Doug and Kay were also host parents to three foreign exchange students:
Terhi Hiltunen-Finland
Eva Gekle-Germany
Linda Magnusdottir-Iceland
Doug and Kay loved all their nieces and nephews, their foreign exchange students and hockey players and treated them as their children.
Doug is survived by his wife, Kay; brothers, Bill (Connie) Baumann and Rick (Pam) Baumann; sister, Betty (Jeff) Mueller; several nieces and nephews; Kay’s family of sisters, brothers, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-laws, nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents and brother, David Baumann. A celebration of his life will be Saturday, March 25th, 2023 at the Gathering Place, 133 Mason Street, Onalaska, WI from 2:00 pm-4:00 pm with a time for sharing memories at 3:00 p.m. Graveside service will be Saturday, May 13, 2023 at St. Raphael’s Catholic Cemetery, 395 Ave., Springfield, MN at 1:00 p.m. followed by a Gathering with family and friends at the American Legion, 5 N. O’Connell, Springfield, MN until 4:00 p.m. with a time for sharing memories at 3:00 p.m. Urnbearers, Brent Mueller, nephew; Katie Mouw, niece; Sami Matter, niece Doug’s family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff and tenants at Windsor Place.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Shriners Hospitals for Children.

To view Doug’s tribute video click here