Lake Mills/Columbus——

Jacob Gene Damm, age 31, passed away on Monday, August 19, 2024 at his home in Lake Mills, WI.

Jacob (Jake) was born to Steve and Linda (Birrenkott) Damm on June 29, 1993. He grew up on the Damm family farm in Columbus, WI. At a young age he loved spending hours outdoors exploring and discovering wildlife. His parents fondly remember a young Jacob on his toy four-wheeler yelling, “This is the best day of my life!” And Jake truly did love life to the fullest.

He attended St. Jerome School in Columbus, WI, where he built lifelong friendships and began his faith. He then attended Columbus High School where he played on the football and golf teams. He loved spending time with his friends holding parties in the old calf barn and bonfires out by the woods.

Jake knew he wanted his career to be connected to the outdoors, and this led him to pursue a degree in Environmental Reclamation at UW-Platteville. Jake fostered his passion for land restoration through his studies and mentors there. He proudly graduated from UW Platteville in 2015 and began his career path in Ecological Restoration.

During winter break in college, he picked up a few hours at his high school job, Subway, and this is where he met Michelle. Soon after, the two started dating and fell in love. Jake and Michelle were married on July 15, 2017 in Waterloo, WI. Together they built a life and home in Lake Mills, WI. A few years later, he and Michelle gave life to a beautiful baby girl, Katara.

Jake put his all into his career. He was driven and put his heart and soul into restoring woodlands, prairies, and wetlands back to their native habitat. He believed in his work and the good and beauty it brought to this world.

Jake could fix anything, build anything, and he loved understanding how things worked. He took what was in disrepair and restored it back to the way it was supposed to be. He loved music and spent hours playing guitar. Jake loved the natural world around him, he loved his family deeply. Jake loved life.

He is survived by his wife Michelle (Roth) Damm and their 18-month-old daughter Katara; his parents Steven and Linda (Birrenkott) Damm and sister Danielle Damm of Columbus; his grandparents Eugene and Phyllis Damm of Columbus; his mother and father-in-law John and Shelly Roth, formally of Lodi; his brother-in-law, Matthew (Alyssa) Roth of Chicago; and his sister-in-law Merriellen (Nathan) Stevens of Oconomowoc. He was preceded in death by his grandparents Reuben and Maggie Birrenkott.

A visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in East Bristol, WI, followed by A Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. The burial will be in the church cemetery. A gathering at Cercis Brewery in Columbus will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, a Memorial education fund will be established for Jake and Michelle’s daughter Katara. You can contribute to the memorial fund by writing a check and sending it to:

Memorial Fund: Katara’s Education
C/O Steve and Linda Damm
7704 Deansville Road
Marshall, WI 53559

Or donate on the GoFundMe page here: https://gofund.me/d95572e3, and designate your donation as “Memorial Fund: Katara’s Education.”

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