Rockvam

NEW ULM — Former New Ulm city councilor and District 88 school board member Kenneth Rockvam died Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, at the Sleepy Eye Care Center. He was 82 years old.

Rockvam was a school teacher for 15 years, also working for Midwest Commodities and later AMPI.

He served as president of the Izaak Walton League in Minnesota. He helped implement the first Earth Day in Minnesota.

Rockvam also served as a Turner Hall and New Ulm Country Club board member.

He became involved in politics. Rockvam served on the District. 88 board from 1981 to 1990. He served as New Ulm’s Fourth Ward city councilor for nine years with his last term ending in 2014.

Councilor Les Schultz and Councilor Lisa Fischer both said when joining the council, Rockvam served as a mentor.

Fischer said she was pretty green when she joined the council, but he was there to help and answer questions during her first term.

“He was always very knowledgeable,” Fischer said.

Schultz said Rockvam was great at making sure the city kept to a budget. The biggest disagreement they had was on the chicken ordinance (to allow raising chickens in the city). Rockvam served on the chicken committee to establish a regulation.

“He was a wonderful man and a great colleague,” Schultz said. “He will be missed.”

Councilman Charlie Schmitz ran against Rockvam for the councilor-at-large seat and said there was no better guy to run against.

Schmitz said when Schmitz won, Rockvam immediately called to congratulate him. The two enjoyed talking to each other about topics other than the council.

“I enjoyed working with him,” Schmitz said.

Mayor Robert Beussman remembered Rockvam’s humor. “He was a gentleman who always had a joke that could usually lead to a debate,” Beussman said. “His puns could be distracting sometimes, but were in good taste.”

Beussman served with Rockvam on multiple city commissions and said Rockvam was a good person who deep down felt serving New Ulm was important.

Mass of Christian burial will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 4, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Ulm. Monsignor Douglas Grams will celebrate the mass. Burial will follow in the Catholic Cemetery in New Ulm.

Visitation is 4-7 p.m. Friday and 9-10 a.m. Saturday at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home -North Chapel in New Ulm.