Johanna Wasik

Johanna was born in Eastern Germany on October 18, 1924 to Johann and Anna Schmolke. Her parents decided to merge their names together for their firstborn and named her Johanna. Over the next nine years, six siblings were added to her family and she helped to care for them all. In the future, that experience made her the perfect aunt and great-aunt when babysitting for her nieces and nephew and their children. She had a happy childhood in East Germany. But that changed abruptly by 1942 when the government sent her to work in a factory in West Germany during World War II. She last saw her family at Christmas in 1944. She then had to return to her job in West Germany. The war ended in 1945; she was then separated from friends as the country was divided into sectors. She would not see her mother again until 1961. She felt fortunate to find jobs as a housekeeper and nurses aide, working for room and board to survive in a burned-out country after the war. But in 1954, her sister was living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was able to sponsor Johanna, enabling her to move to the United States . She quickly obtained a work visa, a green card, and a job. She lived with her sister and her sister's family until 1957. In January, 1957, a coworker asked if she would be willing to go on a blind date with his friend  Anthony. She said yes and they went on a double date. Tony was the love of her life and they married in August 1957, with a honeymoon at a cottage in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. In the 1950s and 1960s, Johanna and Tony often went to Muskego Beach or Lake Geneva to listen and dance to Big Band music. They also loved to travel, visiting Europe, Australia, New Zealand, as well as much of the United States, including trips to Alaska and Hawaii. Closer to home, they frequently took long walks in the parks along Lake Michigan or went to the theater to see the latest movies. Tony passed away in 2014. Johanna continued to live at their apartment in South Milwaukee until 2021, when she moved to Meadowmere Assisted Living in Oak Creek.  On October 18, 2024 she celebrated her 100th birthday with a party at Meadowmere which included a musical performance by Elvis. She passed away on May 13, 2025. She is survived by three siblings, and by her nieces and nephew and their children and grandchildren, as well as other relatives and friends in the United States and Germany.