Joan Catherine Geenen

Joan (Jo), beloved wife, mother to three, and grandmother to four, passed away in Appleton, Wisconsin peacefully on October 9, after a decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Despite her health challenges, she maintained her strong faith in God and His plan for her and her family until the end.

Joan was born in Antigo, Wisconsin in 1938 to Rosa and Leo Braun, the third of five children. Joan attended St. Mary’s High School in Menasha, as did the love of her life, William Geenen, though she didn’t meet Bill until working as a bank teller in Neenah. On October 7th, 1961, they pledged their lives to each other. They spent the next 63 wonderful years making an exceptional life together.

Not long after they were married, Joan and Bill became charter members of the St. Thomas More faith community. Juggling work and children, they found time to counsel young couples through Marriage Encounter, giving them useful tools for the challenges ahead. Joan also lent her lovely soprano voice to the choir and her artistic skills to the decorations committee. Joan volunteered as a receptionist at LEAVEN in Appleton for 20 years, helping to make sure that people going through difficult times received the help they needed. Bill and Joan quietly lived their Christian values every day. Even as her illness continued to progress, her faith gave her the strength and grace to bear it. 

Joan was a devoted mother to William (Lillie Stewart) Geenen, Catherine (Tom) Thrush, and Robert (Kate) Geenen, sharing with them her love of beauty, her passion for art, and her enduring faith. All three children cherish memories of their many family adventures across the US and beyond, long bike rides, and days picking fruit together. Mom was the voice of reason when they got too carried away, rubbing sunscreen on their backs at the beach, watching over them as they swam or climbed trees. She was always protecting them, usually from themselves.

After the kids headed off to college and made families of their own, Bill and Joan ventured across North America in their RV, meeting interesting people, exploring new places, and celebrating this amazing land. 

Joan’s main passion was her art. As a self-taught artist, she experimented with watercolor and oils until she found her true medium, pastels. She found her calling celebrating the beauty of God’s creations in landscapes, florals, and still lifes. For “Jo”, creating art was a prayer. If art is an expression of our true selves, then Joan was indeed a beautiful soul. Joan shared her art with the community through shows including “Art in the Park” at City Park as well as others around the state. She also taught classes, giving her students the gift of expressing themselves through “pastel painting”. Her artwork has found its way into numerous private and corporate collections across the state. Many folks living in the Appleton area have probably seen her work, whether they knew it or not.

Joan was preceded in death by her son Christopher, her parents and two brothers, Norbert and Paul, and is survived by her two sisters, Rita and Marie, her husband Bill, their three children, and four grandchildren, Ava, Anne, Bryan and Liam, all of whom will never forget the love and beauty she brought to their lives.

A funeral mass for Jo will take place on Tuesday October 15, 2024, at 11:00am at St Thomas More Parish, 1810 N McDonald St, Appleton. Friends and family may gather at the church from 9:00am until mass begins.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to LEAVEN, The Parkinson’s Foundation, or the Michael J. Fox Foundation. 

To view some of Jo's artwork, please see her website:

https://geenen.wixstudio.io/jogeenen