SONJA WANAMAKER

Sonja “Jane” Wanamaker, neé Recker, age 77 died peacefully on June 13 at Valley VNA in Neenah, surrounded by family, ending a long struggle with dementia and declining health. 

She was born in Grand Island, Nebraska on December 7, 1940, the second child of Robert and Dorothy Recker's five children.  She grew up on a farm near Alda, Nebraska and graduated from Central Catholic High School in Grand Island.  She attended college at St. Catharine College in St. Catharine, Kentucky and later at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska where she earned her degree as a medical technician.  It was also at Creighton that she met her husband, Dr. William Wanamaker of Oak Harbor, Washington.  They married August 30, 1962 and started a family soon after.  They lived in Omaha, Madison, Marshfield, and Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois before settling in De Pere in 1978.  They moved to Island Shores in Neenah in 2012.  Jane has lived at Valley VNA since 2013.  The family would like to extend their grateful thanks to the staff of the VNA, especially the nurses who lovingly cared for her. 

In addition to caring for her husband and children, Jane gave of herself as a volunteer. She was a leader of her children's elementary school PTA, she was a nature guide at the UW Arboretum in Madison and the Fontanelle Forest in Omaha, she actively supported political campaigns and candidates in whom she believed, and she was deeply committed to the Brown County Historical Society and other causes in the community.  She will be dearly missed by her many friends Green Bay area.

She is survived by her siblings, Dr. Robert (Susan) Recker of Omaha, Nancy (Roland) Woodruff of Oshkosh, Mary (Dr. Greg) Rohs of Cincinnati, three children: Tom (Janet) Wanamaker of Neenah; Anne (John) Yazek of Fitchburg, WI; and John Wanamaker (Lisa Erb) of Minneapolis; grandchildren: Daniel and Maddie Wanamaker, and Alina Yazek.  She is preceded in death by her husband, Bill; and brother, Richard (Molly) Recker of Neenah. 

A Celebration of Life will be held from noon - 2:00 p.m. with a Memorial Service beginning at noon, on Sunday, July 29, at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens, 2600 Larsen Rd in Green Bay.  In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make a donation to the Brown County Historical Society in Jane's name.