Sister Joanne Wachowiak

Sister Joanne Wachowiak (Thomasine) age 87 died on February 19, 2026 at Regina Healthcare Center in Richfield, OH.

She was born on a cold wintery day, January 22, 1939, at the family home on 2416 Clark Street in Stevens Point, WI, to the late Joseph Peter and Theresa Helen (Frydach) Wachowiak at 9:30 a.m.

Schools she attended in Stevens Point were Garfield Elementary School that was on Clark Street for Kindergarten, St. Stanislaus for grades one through eight, and St. Joseph Academy renamed Maria High School.

From the time she knew the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Stanislaus, she wanted to be a teaching sister and so she entered in 1954 and made her final vows on August 10, 1963.

She received a BS degree in Education from St. Norbert College in De Pere in 1971 and a MS degree in Administration and Supervision from UW-River Falls in 1981.

Her education led her to ministries in teaching and administration for 50 years in Milwaukee, Stevens Point, Wausau, Thorp, Athens, Greenwood and Willard, Mosinee, and Marathon City. After she retired, she became Grandma Joanne at Jefferson Elementary School in Stevens Point, WI. She worked with kindergarten, first and second grade students.

In all these communities she served on civic, school, and planning committees, Athens Village Board, and Interfaith Caregivers Board of Clark County. She directed the accreditation of schools for the La Crosse Diocese, served on the Principal Advisory Committee for the La Crosse Diocesan Schools, and as a member of the Wisconsin Math Council.

Interests are doing crossword puzzles, playing Scrabble and Shanghai Rummy, crafts, reading and all types of writing.

She is survived by her brother, Dennis and his wife, Penny, and her nieces, her nephew, her cousins, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother, Joseph Gregory, his wife, Kathy, her sisters, Nancy and Sandra Krutza, and and brother-in-law, Richard Krutza.

Visitation for Sister Joanne will be held on Friday, February 27, 2026 at 10:00 AM, at Pisarski Funeral Home, 703 Second Street, Stevens Point. A Service of Remembrance will begin at 11:00 AM. Burial will take place following the prayer service at the Sisters Cemetery on the former convent grounds known now as The Grove, 1300 Maria Drive, Stevens Point. 

In lieu of flowers please send a donation to the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis Mission Advancement Office.

Pisarski Funeral Homes are honored to be serving the Wachowiak Family and the Sisters of St. Joesph of the Third Order of St. Francis.