Jo Van Egeren

Jo Van Egeren, age 84, of Green Bay, passed away peacefully, Sunday, October 1, 2023, surrounded by her 2 children. She was born November 24, 1938 in Green Bay, daughter of the late Omer and Antoinette (Detry) Hansen and was a graduate of Green Bay East High School.

Jo married her childhood sweetheart, Tom Van Egeren, also of Green Bay, who she met in Door County, while both working at the Alpine Resort in Egg Harbor. They married June 19, 1962 in Green Bay and shared 36 wonderful years raising their family together in Algoma, where Tom worked as Physical Education teacher/coach at Algoma High School and Jo worked for Wisconsin Label Corp. Their lives together in Algoma were enhanced by forging wonderful lifetime friendships, many of which continued to the very end.

Jo had declined an offer to work as a TWA flight attendant to accept Tom's marriage proposal and settled down to start a family. After Tom's passing in 1999, in order to be closer to her kids, grandkids and grandpuppies we moved her to Green Bay so she could attend their varied activities and events. She found fulfilling career options in Green Bay, including a stint at Elaine's House of Brides and 13 glorious years as a treasured employee for the Green Bay Packers, where she established a new circle of dear friends and travel partners.

While in Green Bay, Jo's "second life" began to blossom. Since she put her personal dreams and ambitions of travel and adventure on hold, things came full circle once she had the opportunity to spread her wings in her newfound independence. She was able to travel the world, knocking off 62 of the 100 destinations on her penciled-in bucket list. If it weren't for COVID, she would have hit more!

All that knew Mom considered her the life of the party, with a quick wit and addictive sense of humor, making everyone around her feel special, especially the bartenders and servers at her favorite establishments. Her proudest accomplishment was being a mom to Steve and Stacy, and she embraced every opportunity to encourage them and support their own dreams.

Jo is survived by her children, Steve Van Egeren and Stacy Smith Van Egeren; three grandchildren, Jordan (fiancé, Aaron LaCrosse) Van Egeren, Max (fiancée, Suzy Batcher) Van Egeren and Jack Van Egeren; and her nephews Jeff Stanton and Scott Lewicki. Jo was preceded in death by her sister Shirley Lewicki.

Visitation will be held at Newcomer-Green Bay Chapel (340 S. Monroe Ave., Green Bay, WI), Friday, October 6, 2023 from 4 to 6:30 PM. A memorial service and sharing of memories will follow at 6:30 PM. Please come prepared to share your favorite memory of Jo!

Jo's life was enhanced greatly by her grandpuppies Harley, Sadie, Chloe, C.J. and Dexter. With this in mind, she requested in lieu of memorials, donations should be made to the Green Bay Humane Society in her honor.

Lastly but not least, Jo's family is very grateful for the tremendous care and compassion shown by her many care providers, including Cardiology Associates of Bellin Health - Dr. Wolfram and his team Bobbi, Emily, Vicky and Becky; De Pere Family Practice - Dr. Biernat; the Bellin ICU staff - Jervis, Brittany, Cassi and Nikki; Unity Hospice; and Erika and Brian at Newcomer Funeral Home.

Goodbye, Mom - we'll see you someday soon. We love you!