GERALDINE KNAACK

Geraldine Ellen Knaack, (Hearden), aged 79, of Neenah, Wisconsin, passed into the arms of her Lord and Savior in the early hours of Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Gerry was born in Neenah, Wisconsin, on September 11, 1936, to Thomas and Florence (Quimby) Hearden. She was the youngest of five children, by mere minutes – she was the younger of a set of twin girls. A graduate of St. Mary Catholic High School, she remained a devoted Catholic all her life. She married Russell “Russ” Knaack on June 16, 1956 at St. Mary's in Menasha. She worked at Kimberly-Clark in Neenah for 12 years, until the birth of her third child. When not raising her family, she wrote poetry (including a poem in her Christmas cards every year), short stories, many editorial submissions to the Appleton Post-Crescent, and a novel entitled On Satan's Floor about the difficulties of surgery, pain, and recovery. She was the founder of the support group HOPE (“Handling Our Pain Everyday”), supported cancer  group Make Today Count, and was the first female Toastmaster of the Fox Valley branch. She loved to travel, whether to visit her family in California or the casino, enjoyed cribbage, loved to read murder mysteries, and would win every single penny in kitchen poker. Her endless supply of colorful jokes will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

She is survived by her loving husband of 60 years, Russell I. Knaack of Neenah; three children: Diane (Douglas) Dickson of Oshkosh; Jeanne Egan of San Dimas, CA; and John Knaack of Menasha; eight grandchildren: Heather (Carol) Munroe of Brown Deer, WI; Jamie Sabo of Whittier, CA; Jessica (Alexandre) Montes of Santa Barbara, CA; Josephine Egan (Justin Graza) of San Dimas, CA; John Egan of San Dimas, CA; Justin, Dalton, and Colton Knaack of Menasha; and four great-grandchildren: Damien, Alexander, Zeno, and Corra. She is also survived by her close friends Carol Rasmussen and Sister Diane Baumann. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Thomas “Tommy” (Marilyn) Hearden, her sisters Eunice Schilling and Dorothy (Charles) Lux, and her twin Judith “Judy” (Raymond) Gosz.

The Funeral Mass for Gerry will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at St. Gabriel Parish, 900 Geiger Street, Neenah with Rev. Larry Seidl officiating.  Visitation will be held at the church on Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. until the hour of the funeral.  Internment will be held on Tuesday at Greenlawn Memorial Park, 1451 Green Valley Road, Neenah.

Gerry's family would like to thank our good friends who have supported us at this difficult time, and also the caregivers of Right at Home and Heartland Hospice for their care and compassion.

“Life is about sharing and love and adapting to new things.” – Geraldine E. Knaack