JANET GEHRKE

Janet Ann Gehrke passed away peacefully on November 7, 2023. She was born in Neenah, WI on September 6, 1934 to Sylvia (Boche) and William Gibson. During high school, she worked at Gehrke's Grocery Store where she met the love of her life, Peter Gehrke, Jr. They were married August 2, 1953 and had three children, John, LuAnn and Jim. After their children entered school, Janet began a long, successful career at Kimberly-Clark. She helped convert their sales reporting from punch cards to computers, and ultimately managed the Statistical Services Department. She took great pride in helping the entire K-C Sales Team understand the vast amount of data that had become available to analyze sales results/trends and make business decisions. 

After Pete passed away, Janet joined three close friends in many travels and fun times. They adopted the nickname “The Merry Widows.” On one adventure they rented a conversion van, travelled through Canada, down the West Coast, and, of course stopped in Las Vegas, before returning home. All of this without any reservations or any particular agenda, using a plethora of maps to navigate their way. They were an independent, fun-loving group. Janet enjoyed her annual trips to Florida in the winter and Las Vegas in the fall. She continued her traveling adventures with LuAnn, cruising the Mediterranean and the Holy Land. She was such a trooper, navigating rocky steps and stairways of a multitude of historic sights.  A trip to London and Paris included celebrating her 84th birthday with a special dinner in the Eiffel Tower.

Janet was a very generous and compassionate woman, in addition to being a dedicated friend and caregiver to many. Her house was always open and she was known as Ma Gehrk to many of her children's friends. She enjoyed watching the activity on the lake in front of her house during sturgeon spearing and always had a big batch of chili for any spearers that happened to stop by (and they did). She volunteered at the Grand Opera House and loved ushering for afternoon performances for school children. She was President of the Theda Clark Auxiliary and the KC Women's golf league. She enjoyed organizing KCA golf events and hospital volunteer appreciation lunches, always putting on her touch to make the events special. Janet had a talent for interior design and was excited to coordinate the furnishings and decorating of Theda Clark's Guest House, a home for patients' families. Her passion, though, was designing and preparing the Gift Shop display windows at the hospital. If you walked down the hall on Mondays, you would often see Janet, sometimes on a ladder, arranging the best mix of new items or refreshing the displays from the weekend sales. She was an avid knitter and kept the hospital well supplied with stocking hats for newborns.

Janet was loved and will be missed by so many people including her children, John Gehrke and special friend, Jane Levine, LuAnn Rasmussen, and Jim Gehrke; grandchildren, Michelle Rasmussen, Max and Anna Rasmussen, Ashley Gehrke, Jessica Gehrke and special friend Kris Meyers, and Pete Gehrke; great-grandchildren, Harmony and Zoe Mattio and Kasen and Kaitlyn Meyers; sister, Sharon Kulzer; brother-in-law, Duane Andersen; many cousins, nieces, and nephews. In addition to her husband, Pete, she is preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Burt and Duane Gibson; sister, Barbara Andersen; and daughter-in-law, Kris Gehrke.

A funeral mass for Janet will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 14th at St Margaret Mary Church, 620 Division St, Neenah. Visitation will be held 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, November 13th at Westgor Funeral Home, 205 W Doty Ave, Neenah and again at church on Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. until the hour of service.

The Family would like to thank Kimberly, Piante, Lacy, Suzy, Tina, Emilie, Jeremiah, Jenny, Maureen, Maddie, Hanna, Nicki, Samantha, Courtney and the entire staff who cared for Janet at Oakridge Gardens. Their care and compassion were unparalleled and we will be forever grateful.

Although our hearts are broken, we take comfort in knowing that Mom/Grams is reunited with the love of her life. ❤️