Donna L Froeming

Donna L Froeming, 85, Appleton, passed away following a courageous bout with Alzheimer's on June 26, 2014 at Mayflower Assisted Living. The former Donna Hipp was born on May 17, 1929 in Appleton to Walter and Ellen (Hansen) Hipp. On September 20, 1958 she married Ed “Bud” Froeming at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Appleton and he preceded her in death on March 16, 2012. Donna was a long time employee with Wisconsin Bell as a Telephone Operator, retiring in December of 1985. After retirement from Wisconsin Bell, she accepted several part-time positions with Landmark Staffing and later took an office position with her longtime neighbor and friend who owned Wieckert Realty. Donna and Bud were founding members of St. Thomas More Catholic Parish. She was active in her church, volunteering as Phy-Ed Supervisor and assisting children with one on one reading. Donna and Bud always loved camping and RV travel. Family weekends were spent at Wisconsin camping destinations and vacations were spent travelling the U.S. and Canada. For the children's graduations, they were able to choose a vacation they each wanted and mom and dad always made them fun. Donna enjoyed collecting angels and paperweights. Bud would always try to find the perfect paperweight for her as their anniversary gift every year and the rest of the family always kept their eyes open for angels mom would love. Donna also loved knitting and crocheting. She was self-taught and you rarely saw her without her needles and yarn. Through the years, she made over 2300 custom Barbie Doll clothes for family and friends. She also made beautiful baby hats, afghans and other items which she donated to children's charities, including the Appleton Medical Center's Nursery, The Christ Child Society and several orphanages in Russia.

She will be sadly missed by three children: Jim (Lori) Froeming of Appleton and her son Bill; Sara Froeming of Appleton, and David (Debbie) Froeming of Appleton and their children, Nathan and Natalie, sister-in-law Charlotte Hipp as well as nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Bud, two brothers: Eugene and Sheldon and one sister Shirley (August) Pollack, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Bernice (Roland) Weiss and Beatrice (Arley) Kuhn.

Funeral Mass will be on Monday June 30, 2014 at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 1810 North McDonald Street in Appleton at 11:00 am with Fr. Gerald Falk officiating. Visitation will be at the church from 9:30-11:00 am. Entombment at Highland Memorial Park. For more information and to express online condolences, please visit the online website at www.wichmannfargo.com.

The family would like to thank the staff and nurses of Homestead Senior Care, Mayflower Assisted Living and ThedaCare at Home Hospice for all the wonderful care and assistance they gave to Donna. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established.

To my Mom and Best Friend: May you now enjoy peace and happiness in heaven. I will miss you dearly and will always cherish our special mother-daughter outings. My favorite memory of you is your sharing and enjoyment in my volunteering at the Appleton Police Department.

Your loving daughter, Sara