Carroll's Uff Da Crew: Carrying a Father's Legacy Forward
Carroll’s Uff Da Crew: Carrying a Father’s Legacy Forward
By Kenyon Kemnitz
Each July at the Rainbow Community Care Golf Outing, one foursome stands out from the rest. Wearing matching purple shirts and purple ribbon pins, Erica Thompson and her family take to the course as “Carroll’s Uff Da Crew” not just to play 18 holes, but to honor the memory of a beloved father, grandfather, teacher, farmer, and hospice patient.
For three consecutive years, the family has turned personal loss into community impact, continuing as a Platinum sponsor, enthusiastic auction supporters, and one of the event’s most recognizable teams. Through their dedicated participation, they have turned the annual outing into a living, breathing celebration of Carroll DuWayne Ehrke, ensuring his legacy continues to support families throughout southern Wisconsin.
To understand what drives this shared tradition, one must first look to the man at the heart of the story. Carroll was a man deeply rooted in the soil, the seasons, and the community of southern Wisconsin.
Born in October 1939 as the youngest of ten children, Carroll grew up on a family farm, learning the values of hard work and neighborly care early on. He attended a rural one-room schoolhouse and went on to serve his country in the Wisconsin Army National Guard during the Berlin Crisis. But his real calling in life was working the land and passing his love for agriculture on to others.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Carroll spent 14 years teaching biology and agriculture, including 11 years at Milton High School and three years in Cambridge. As a Future Farmers of America (FFA) advisor, he mentored generations of students, connecting classroom science with the realities of farming. Even before retiring in 2016, Carroll rarely slowed down. He milked cows, built houses, and delivered parts for Truck Country.
To those who didn't know him, Erica describes a man of quiet depth, immense intelligence, and a remarkable memory. Carroll loved taking drives to check on local farmers and their crops, while enjoying lunch, supper, or ice cream along the way. With an educator's eye, he also made a habit of tracking the movements of local wildlife like deer, turkeys, cranes, and eagles.
Anyone who stepped into Carroll’s home quickly discovered his deep love for songbirds, which he learned to identify by sight and their distinct calls as a young boy in grade school. He took particular joy in watching them flock to the feeders right outside his window.
Carroll also appreciated life’s simple pleasures. He read the newspaper, watched the news daily, and never missed Jeopardy! Known for his dry, clever wit, he also had a soft spot for old music and classic poetry.
Above all else, Carroll was a devoted sports fan who was fiercely loyal to the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and his beloved Chicago Cubs. For decades, he rarely missed an opportunity to cheer on his children and six grandchildren at their athletic and academic events. He always loved a good game of cribbage, dartball, or bowling, and especially golf when it supported a good cause.
The trajectory of Carroll’s life changed on November 23, 2021, with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. What followed was a grueling multi-year journey marked by relentless treatment. Yet throughout it all, Carroll faced every challenge with quiet strength, supported by the compassionate care of the team at the Faith Clinic at Froedtert Hospital.
During those countless, exhausting road trips to Froedtert, a family symbol was born. To stay comfortable during his appointments, Carroll frequently wore his favorite, “Uff Da” sweatshirt. As his daughter remembered, like any true Norwegian, he loved talking about that sweatshirt. He wore it proudly, and it became an instant conversation starter in clinic waiting rooms and a warm symbol of good humor and Midwestern resilience.
By mid-February 2024, his oncology team recommended stopping chemotherapy because it was no longer slowing the spread of cancer. The focus shifted to prioritizing his comfort, dignity, and quality of life.
As a retail pharmacist, Erica had worked with Rainbow Community Care staff for years and trusted their expertise. When her father’s condition worsened, she immediately reached out to her longtime friend, Karen Carrig, RN, the organization’s now retired President & CEO.
“It wasn’t a formal intake process,” Karen recalls. “It was simply a friend helping a friend.”
The trusted relationship helped connect the family with Rainbow’s hospice team and the support Carroll needed to remain at home.
"Rainbow has always been about neighbors caring for neighbors, and when Erica messaged me during such a difficult time for her family, it was a quiet reminder of the deep trust our community places in us," Karen reflected. "To see her family channel their love for Carroll into becoming a Platinum sponsor of our annual golf outing just two months after his passing, and to see them back now for a third consecutive year, is deeply moving. They bring this fundraising event to life with their spirit and support."
"I felt comfortable asking any questions and knew that I would get answers," Erica recalls of that pivotal moment. "Dad wanted to be in the comfort of his home. He could see his bird feeders, his farm, and visit with his family and friends whenever he wanted."
Rainbow’s hospice team quickly arranged an informational home visit. For the final two months of Carroll's life, staff members like Jodie, Nicole, Jolene, and Steve became an integral extension of the Ehrke family, providing care that was attentive, gentle, and deeply compassionate. Surrounded by the people he loved, able to look out the window at his farm and his beloved songbirds, Carroll passed away peacefully on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. He was 84 years old, and by his own grateful admission, he had "lived a good life."
Even in his final weeks, Carroll’s sense of humor remained intact. He shared a favorite joke with his family about a dying man that is so enticed by the sweet aroma of fresh chocolate chip cookies that he uses what little strength he has left to crawl across the floor toward the kitchen. But when he reaches up for a cookie, his wife whacks his hand away with a spatula and says, "Those are for the funeral!” It was exactly the sort of dry humor that Carroll loved.
When Carroll passed away in May 2024, his absence was felt deeply. For Erica and her family, the question wasn't how to move past the pain and grief, but how to channel that immense love into something beautiful. With the Rainbow Community Care Golf Outing scheduled just over two months later in July, the choice was obvious.
"Dad always enjoyed golfing, especially for a good cause," Erica said. "It was a no-brainer."
That choice sparked the creation of "Carroll’s Uff Da Crew." The team name directly honors those long drives to Froedtert, transforming a silly sweatshirt into a rallying cry for cancer awareness and local healthcare support. When deciding on their Platinum sponsorship logo, the family meticulously wove together the threads of Carroll’s rich life. The logo prominently features a purple ribbon, a widely recognized symbol of pancreatic cancer awareness and support. Surrounding it are thoughtful, stylized nods to his beloved Chicago Cubs, his identity as a Wisconsin dairy farmer, an agriculture teacher, an FFA advisor, and, of course, the songbirds he loved to feed.
The golf outing has become a meaningful annual tradition for the family. While a core group hits the links, an even larger circle of family members joins them later in the evening for the dinner buffet and the auction. They go all-in, bidding generously on items because they know firsthand exactly where that money goes and the compassionate care it provides for other local families.
"The golf outing is just a lot of fun, with different activities throughout the course," Erica said. "It's a great group of people to enjoy the day with and we love being able to experience it together as a family."
Erica's mission to honor her father doesn't stop at the golf course. The family regularly participates in the annual PanCAN PurpleStride walks to raise critical funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer research, and they actively support the LaBahn Pancreatic Cancer Program through the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Grief doesn't end when the funeral is over. Rainbow’s support has continued long past Carroll's passing, from bereavement letters to gentle check-in calls. For Erica and her family, those quiet touchpoints have meant a lot.
"Grieving is an ongoing process that we all do at our own pace in our own way," she notes, "and we've really appreciated them being there."
For the Thompson and Ehrke families, part of that process is keeping Carroll’s spirit alive in everyday moments. It’s wishing they could pick up the phone to tell him about a ten-point buck in a crisp morning field, an eagle soaring on the way to work, or to ask his timeless advice on fixing a noisy car engine or planting potatoes.
As much as the outing has grown over the years, the true reward of the event has always been the personal connections it creates and the living memories it honors. When the 26th annual golf outing wrapped up at Lake Ripley Country Club in Cambridge, Carroll DuWayne Ehrke was there in every way that mattered. He was there in the purple ribbons, the shared smiles across the fairway, the clever jokes between holes, and the profound generosity of a family that refused to let death have the final word. Through three straight years of dedicated support from Carroll’s Uff Da Crew, a good life continues to yield a beautiful harvest for our community.