Janice Clare Geimer, age 81, passed peacefully surrounded by family on January 26, 2020, after an early birthday celebration the night before.

Jan is survived by her loving husband of 59 years, Jack (John Walter Fenske) and their five children, Mary Jean (Tom Hinze), Audrey (Chris Knopf), Beth (Tom Gorak), Christine, and John, ten grandchildren (Jack, Chris, Natalie, Tommy, Beth, John, Claire, Miranda, Walter, and Josie), and one great grandchild (Jaxon), and by siblings Jeanne (Gary), Kathryn (Joe), and Bobby (Cathy). She was preceded in death by her mothers, Clara and Mary, her father, Robert, and her sisters Pamela (or Agatha) and Mary Rose.

Jan was an early and active advocate for equal rights for women and civil rights. A graduate of Door Kewaunee Teachers College, she taught for 2 years at St. Stanislaus in Milwaukee. While raising 5 children she earned her BS in Education and MS in Social Work. Jan had a rewarding twenty-year career as a family therapist.

Jan loved birthdays, dancing at weddings (or anytime, really), music, and reading. She was a member of book clubs and founded one on Moshawquit Lake. She was an early enthusiast of running in the early 1970's (although it was called jogging back then) and cross country skiing, and she shared her passion with her children and husband Jack. She remained physically active for the next four decades, taking exercise classes, swimming, biking, and running. She encouraged her husband Jack to join her, but with limited success. The irony of her heart gradually losing strength while Jack's beat on was not lost on her; nor did Jan lose her sense of humor about it. She had a ready laugh and a bright, warm smile.

Jan was a lifelong learner. She practiced yoga and meditation, and shared her knowledge with family and friends, recording meditation tapes for her children and grandchildren and leading family yoga sessions. She was very curious and spiritual, enjoying the best offered by Christianity, Buddhism, and other approaches to understanding and living life.

Jan welcomed everyone to her home, both in Wauwatosa and at the lake cottage in northern Wisconsin. Jan was so happy to be able to share special places and meals with friends (old and new) and family alike, and the dinner conversations were long, lively, and wide-ranging. Jan's physical presence at our tables will be sorely missed, even as she lives on in our hearts and memories.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorials may be made to Safe Haven of Shawano, Wisconsin.