Cover photo for Jeffrey Claude Gostisha's Obituary
Jeffrey Claude Gostisha Profile Photo
1952 Jeff 2023

Jeffrey Claude Gostisha

July 27, 1952 — July 3, 2023

Wauwatosa

Jeffrey Claude Gostisha, 70, of Wauwatosa, WI, passed away on July 3rd, 2023, in the care of his loved ones.

Jeff, the eldest of eight children, was born on July 27th, 1952, to parents Jean and Robert (Gus) Gostisha. His earliest childhood experiences included spending time with his grandma on her farm. He was deeply influenced by this relationship and carried stories and memories of this time with him into adulthood.

As he grew up, Jeff developed an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and became known for being a trivia buff. His perpetual love of learning started at UW Eau Claire, and then at UW Whitewater, where he was pursuing studies in Astronomy. Once he entered the work force he excelled in sales, thanks to his outgoing and sociable personality.

Jeff had many hobbies including drawing, reading, photography, travel, cooking, and building scale models of cars, airplanes, and ships.

The pastime that had the greatest impact on his life, however, was aviation.

Becoming a skydiver and getting his pilots license became a central part of Jeff's life. While flying planes for skydivers and completing over 1,000 jumps himself, he fulfilled a dream while also gaining a lasting community of friendship. Ever the extremist, the aviation world also introduced him to pyrotechnics and an even larger friend group and adrenaline rush. In addition to these many adulthood friendships made, he is known for maintaining strong lifelong friendships from the age of 4.

In his retirement years, Jeff continued to be involved in aviation by working at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, fueling jets, but his favorite job was his most recent one as a school crossing guard. He derived such joy out of sharing in the kids' experiences and getting to know all of the local families.

Jeff had immense love for his 5 children and 9 grandchildren. Family was important to him and he stayed in touch with relatives from as close as Goodman, WI, to as far as Slovenia.

Jeff was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his 5 children - Joel Gostisha, Julie Gostisha, Amy (Samy Hamzeh) Gostisha, Erika Allen, and Robyn Salinas; as well as his 9 grandchildren, Graham, Elise, Hank, Bruce, Nora, Logan, Lilian, Mohammed, and Ana. He will also be forever remembered by his 7 siblings - Kathy (Andy) Minster, Bobby (Sheila) Gostisha, Mark (Kris) Gostisha, Barb (John) Heinen, Marty (Janet Reagles) Gostisha, Jenny Gostisha, and Lynn (Chris) Jeka; as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

The family acknowledges the caregivers who helped provide compassionate love and care at the end of Jeff's life, including Dani Orugbani.

There will be a service on Wednesday, July 12th at 1pm at St. Bernard Parish (1500 N. Wauwatosa Avenue) and a casual celebratory reunion for friends and family at The Grand Hall at Hoyt Park (1800 N. Swan Boulevard) immediately following.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to your favorite charity in Jeff's memory.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Jeffrey Claude Gostisha, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Memorial Service

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Starts at 1:00 pm (Central time)

With a celebratory reunion following the service at The Grand Hall at Hoyt Park (1800 N Swan Blvd.)

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Guestbook

Visits: 575

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree