Joanne Neuendorf

Joanne E. Neuendorf passed away on January 26^, 2017 in Lancaster, Wisconsin, with her loved ones at her side. She was 87 years young. She was preceded in death by her husband, Martin, who passed away in 1975, and her grandson, Adame Martin Brunner in 2011.

Joanne is survived by her children: Shari (Greg) Brunner, Bill (Jann) and Curt and grandchildren Andrea Ege, Tavia Brunner, Hillary Hoffman, and honorary grandchildren Derek, Emily and Jessie Montgomery, four great-grandsons, special Sister Cleo Stenner, and many loving family members.

Joanne was born in Madison to Isa and August Schumann. She was an only child, and as a result, she was expected to do the work of a boy or a girl. When her parents owned a service station, she learned to do oil changes, rotate tires and pump gas. She drove a taxi cab in Madison while she was in college at the University of Wisconsin. Her plan was to become an interpreter for the UN, however her father, who paid the bill, insisted that she should become a teacher and stay closer to home. She married Martin Neuendorf on June 19, 1954, and she taught school in Belmont until she accompanied her husband to Milwaukee to attend Mortuary School, graduating with him but never obtaining her license. She taught adult evening classes for many years, tutored students for French and German, and drove school bus. She went back school when she was 55, all the while teaching Secondary Learning Disability students at Schullsburg. After attending classes at UW-Platteville and UW-Whitewater, she received her masters degree in education.

Joanne was very active in St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Burton, she was a member of the Blackhawk Council of the Boy Scouts of America, she was a member of the Potosi Public Schools School Board, she was a volunteer at Passage thru Time Museum, and at the National Brewery Museum in Potosi. She worked for many years at the polling station in Potosi for elections. She spent 3 summers cooking at Canyon Camp Boy Scout Camp.

She loved to read, write, garden and travel - she especially loved to drive. She will be remembered for her ready smile and sense of humor and she spoke with anyone she met whether she knew them or not.

No services are planned at this time, but rather, a Celebration of Life memorial will be held this summer in Potosi. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Grant County Food Pantry or St. Croix Hospice.

The family expresses their sincere appreciation for the care Joanne received from the staff at Orchard Manor Nursing Home and St. Croix Hospice. Thanks also, to the many people who stopped to visit her and make her days brighter.