Joanne H. Wessel

Joanne Wessel lived a long and full life.

She was born Joan Huxtable on November 19 th ,1927 in The Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the daughter of Alleyne (Spillers) Huxtable and Sterling Huxtable. Childhood years were spent in Minneapolis and Moorhead; then Westchester, IL (schooled in a one room schoolhouse through 8 th grade), and finally to Glen Ellyn, IL.

Her younger sister Janet (Sissy) came along two and a half years after Joanne, and the two of them were night and day different, but lifelong friends and close as sisters can be. Their father was a potato broker and conducted much business via railroad boxcar, and both girls remember receiving special treatment (fine linen and scrumptious meals) from the railroad conductor when they travelled back and forth from Chicago to Minneapolis to visit grandparents.

As a young adult, Joanne commuted on the Aurora and Elgin Electric Railroad to the Marshall Field’s store in Chicago, where she became close and lifetime friends with Jane Hilb, who would be Joanne’s maid of honor in her wedding.

On January 29,1949 Joanne married Kenneth Wessel at St. Petronille in Glen Ellyn. They honeymooned in New Orleans, on a budget of $200, and managed to return home with a few dollars. Three children followed: Linda in 1952, Scott in 1954, and Curt in 1958. All three were delivered by Dr. Joe O’Donnell in Elmhurst Hospital. Joanne and Ken had a long and loving marriage (49 years), raising the children, working – Joanne typed invoices for Sandpaper Inc. of Illinois for fifty plus years --, vacationing in Saugatuck, MI , travelling, and enjoying each other’s company.

Joanne was an avid gardener, loved plants and flowers, loved volunteering at The Morton Arboretum, loved being outdoors. She was even more of an avid walker: those two little feet walked everywhere. Certainly, into her eighties, and even nineties, she would walk three miles a day, most days. She was quietly adventurous, interested in travelling and in trying new things. One of her favorite vacation memories is of a trip to Italy with Jane Hilb, just the two of them, when both were in their seventies. And just five years ago, at age 91, she was game for a three week cross country auto road trip to California -- and back --to visit Sissy.

Joanne, although perfectly comfortable with her own company, was engaged and active with family and friends, and was compassionate and caring of others. After Ken passed in 1998, Joanne volunteered with the local Hospice, and eventually trained to become a grief counselor for others who had lost a loved one. She knew one of the greatest gifts we can offer is to be a good listener. She continued to grow and learn in her 26 years of widowhood and had an ability to foster close friendships with others, some of whom were young enough to be granddaughters.

She lived a long and wonderful life and will be deeply missed. Her love endures.

She is survived by her three children: Linda Schirmang, Scott (Cheri) Wessel, and Curt Wessel (Beth Coleman); by her grandchildren Erik  (Steph) Wessel, Karrin Wessel, Tim (Brianna) Schirmang and Katie (Luke) Letsinger and granddaughter in law Amanda Schirmang; and by great-grandchildren Zac, Andersson, Oliver, and Marquette.

She was preceded in death by her husband Ken, and by her grandson Michael Schirmang.

Thank you to many dear friends who visited her towards the end of her life.

There will be a Memorial Visitation at 10 a.m. and Memorial Mass at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 20th at St. Petronille Catholic Church, 420 Glenwood Avenue in Glen Ellyn, IL. For more information you may call Leonard Memorial Home at (630) 469-0032.

There will be a graveside service gathering this summer.  

Memorials may go to The Morton Arboretum (https://mortonarb.org), or The Clearing Folk School via P.O. Box 65 Ellison Bay, WI 54210 or call 920-854-4088

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