Referd “Ref” Raley Jr. passed away unexpectedly on November 3, 2025.  He was born April 2, 1978, the 4th of 8 children of Referd Sr. and Sandy Raley. He will fondly be remembered by all that knew him for being a political enthusiast, his devotion to the environment and the underserved as well as his intelligence, wit, stubbornness and love for his family.

His youth was spent being outside on the family hobby farm and playing baseball, wrestling and football. He was a nose tackle on the 1995 State runner up football team for Columbus High School and graduated from CHS in 1996, where he was also part of the Badger Boys State group.

Ref went on to further his education at UW-Lacrosse where he graduated Cum Laude in 2000 with a BS in Political Science. He worked for various public interest groups and was an Outreach Director for the Fund for the Public Interest. His canvassing led him to live in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida and Massachusetts.  He returned to Wisconsin in 2015 when his mom was diagnosed with cancer. It was good for him to be surrounded by his like-minded Wisconsin sports fans.  He survived a horrific MVA in 2018 that left him with an internal decapitation, but with his stubbornness and work ethic, he made a miraculous recovery. Since 2021 he worked as the inventory control coordinator at Jung’s Seed in Randolph, WI where he loved working for a family owned business. 

He was an enthusiastic environmentalist, having never met a National Park he did not want to hike in. He loved traveling the world, with one of his favorite places to visit being Prague in the Czech Republic.  Despite ongoing health ailments due to his prior MVA, his passion to help marginalized communities never swayed. He was adored by his many nieces and nephews whom he was affectionately called “Uncle Refee”; they knew he was always ready to look at baseball cards or throw the football around. 

He is survived by his siblings Todd (Lisa) Raley, Tanya Raley, Renee (Bob) Robbins, and Dan Raley; best friend Chris Kratochwill; nieces and nephews, Taylor, Mackenzie, Dan, Tiana, Hunter, Rachel, Brock, Owen Lucas, Logan, Selena and Dustin; along with special fur- nephews Rudy and Cash and fur-nieces Piper, Finn and Coco.  He was preceded in death by his beloved parents Referd Sr. and Sandy (Steinhoff) Raley; brother Dustin and sisters Kassi and Sara.  

A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday November 23, 2025 from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. at the Columbus Country Club (301 Ingalsbe St. Columbus, WI) where the dress code will be any Packers, Brewers, Bucks or Badgers clothing of your choosing. The best way to honor Ref’s memory is to VOTE!