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Gotz, 50, who began work for the office in 1977, died Sunday from medical problems she battled for years, said La Crosse Clerk of Courts Pam Radtke.
Although Gotz fought through years of illness, she never got bitter but kept a positive outlook and remained her same professional self, her co-workers said.
After spending a year working for the community library after graduating from high school, Gotz was hired to work at the clerk of courts office.
She spent the first part of her career working with the juvenile court before becoming judicial assistant for then Circuit Court Judge Dennis Montabon in 1982.
When John Perlich was elected to take over the newly created fourth circuit court branch in 1985, Perlich asked Gotz to take over as his clerk, where she remained until Perlich’s retirement in 2006. For the past two years, Gotz has been a deputy clerk for Circuit Judge Scott Horne.
Perlich said he sought out Gotz to be his clerk because of her many talents.
“That woman had a mind you wouldn’t believe,” Perlich said.
“She never forgot a name and never forgot a face. A lot of people walked in front of me for sentencing, professing they had a clean record. But a few seconds later there would be a note slipped to me telling me otherwise.”
Radtke, who joined the office a year after Gotz, said the two grew up together and grew older together while working in the office.
Gotz’s passing came as a blow to many people in the courthouse but was particularly hard on the people in the clerk of courts office, Radtke said.
“She’s already so very missed here,” Radtke said. “She was always such a hard worker. She was always so very professional and willing to help anybody in the office. That’s why everyone in the office is having such a hard time.”
