Joanne Mary Bogan

Joanne Mary Bogan, age 94, of West Bend, Wisconsin passed away peacefully on January 16, 2026. She was born on September 5, 1931 to John and Mary (nee Krivitz) Grunert in Ohio.

Joanne was a very special person who deeply loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her face would light up when she was talking or just playing with her family. She enjoyed the outdoors and loved her Starbucks. Even if it was sitting at the table watching the birds at the feeders or on the patio in the warm sunlight.

Joanne was a homemaker and she loved her home and her family. In later years she worked in the food and dining industry, first for F.W. Woolworth and then for Sentry Food stores. It was at the Sentry Food store near her home in Milwaukee where she would play Mrs. Claus at Christmas. She really loved that role. She finally retired from Sentry when she was 80 years old.

Golfing was a passion for her. She joined the Dretzka Park Women’s Golf Club and soon became known as “coach”. Even when it became too hard to swing a club, she would be out on the course riding in a cart and sharing tips to the other members of the league.

Joanne was always one to learn. After her stroke, she found it hard to express herself, so she joined a class called Recharge. In that class she learned techniques to help her speak and communicate her thoughts and ideas. When her eyesight began to fail, she got a machine that enlarged the print and also got a machine that would take a picture of a page in a book and read it out loud. She really enjoyed that machine.

Joanne is survived by her loving children Vickie (Jerome) Schuh, Wayne Custer, Lynn (Michael) Huenink, Laura Lessnau, Gordon (Donna) Custer and her sister-in-law, Joyce Grunert. She is survived by her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, other family members and many friends.

Joanne was preceded in death by the love of her life, Gordon Custer, her second husband, Robert Bogan, her daughter Gail (Tim) Novak, her daughter-in-law Kathy (Wayne) Custer, son-in-law Tom (Laura) Lessnau, two grandchildren – David and Cherine, her parents and her brothers and sisters.

Joanne is the last of her generation in the Grunert family and will be sorely missed by all.

A Celebration of Her Life will be held in late spring at the Bruskiewitz Funeral Home. Information will be made available through the funeral home's website.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her name to the KIND fund, (https://www.ms.now/kindfund) or to a charity of your choice.