Joanne B. Weisheipl

JOANNE B. WEISHEIPL, age 92, of Loyal, WI, passed away at home on Wednesday, October 7, 2026 with her daughter, Julie, and granddaughter, Kaila, at her side.  Funeral services will be held at 12pm on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Loyal, with Rev. Matthew Szymanski officiating.  Visitation will be held at the church on Saturday from 10:30am until time of service.  Burial of cremains will take place at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN at a later date.

Joanne Beverly Walters was born on August 29, 1934 in Holcombe, WI, to Odgen E. "Barney" and Anna J. (Hennekens) Walters.  She was raised and received her education in Holcombe, graduating from Holcombe High School in 1952.  After high school, Joanne enrolled in the Minnesota School of Business, where she received her degree in Business Administration/Office Management.  She worked as a legal secretary at Wheeler & Fredrickson in downtown Minneapolis.  Joanne was united in marriage to Albert A. "Tony" Weisheipl on May 7, 1955 at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Cornell, WI. He had proposed while on leave from the Air Force in March, and had to report to his new assignment, Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, WA, five days after their wedding.  After arriving in Washington, Joanne found a job as a secretary at General Telephone Company in Spokane.  In May 1956, they moved to Eau Claire, WI where they started raising their family of five children.  Joanne began working as office manager and controller for the Seven-Up and Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company in Eau Claire.  Her husband, Tony, died on August 1, 1983.  Joanne continued to work at the bottling company, and was there for 28 years from 1958 to 1986.  She then was the Office Manager at Group Health Cooperative until retiring in November 1998.  After retirement, she bought a home in Sun City West, AZ, where she spent six months each year.

In 2003, she met her loving partner, Jim Havlicek, of Black River Falls, WI.  Joanne moved to Black River Falls in 2008, and spent 14 wonderful years with Jim until his death in 2017.  She moved to Loyal in 2020 and resided there until her death.

Joanne was a 53-year member of St. Olaf's Catholic Church in Eau Claire, Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Sun City West, St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Black River Falls, and was a current member of St. Anthony Catholic Church in Loyal.

She was active in many organizations during her 53 years living in Eau Claire; including, serving on the Board of Directors of Royal Credit Union for 25 years, and was a Supervisor on the Eau Claire County Board for six years.  Joanne held offices in the United Commercial Travelers Auxiliary, and the American Business Women's Association, where she was chosen Woman of the Year and attended several national conventions.  She was also appointed to the Eau Claire Industrial Development Corporation board and the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport Committee, where she served as chairperson.

Joanne also kept busy with bowling, bocce, line dancing, bridge, occasional golf, making scrapbooks for each of her children, writing her life stories, volunteering at the local village store, and ushering at a community theater.

She will be dearly missed by her children: Greg (Sandy) of The Villages, FL, Julie Poehnelt of Loyal, Lisa (Dan) Brantmeyer of Matthews, NC, Tim (Kelly Meline) of Clayton, GA, and Tom of Rochester, MN; 11 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; one sister, Janet Raymond (Jerry Stevens) of Prescott, AZ; one brother, Ron (Marge) Walters of Delafield, WI; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.

Joanne was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Tony; her son-in-law, Duane Poehnelt; one sister, Rita Weisheipl, and her dear companion, Jim Havlicek.

 Her family thanks Julie O., Jennifer D. and Donna G., Joanne’s personal caregivers, for their love and compassionate care given to her during her final days.

 Memorials may be designated to St. Anthony Catholic Church in Loyal, or St. Olaf’s Catholic Church in Eau Claire.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.