Anne Youngclaus Stratton

Anne Stratton was born on 12/12/42, the same day (not date) as Frank Sinatra, as she liked to remind people. Anne grew up in Glenview, IL and attended Glenbrook High School before moving to Elm Grove, WI and graduating from Brookfield High School. A month or two after graduation, she met Fred Stratton. A year later they started dating, and after she graduated from Vassar College, they were married and stayed married for 55 1/3 years. After Fred’s retirement, they moved to Naples, FL but continued to spend summers in Wisconsin.

After teaching post-college, Anne turned to raising their three children and writing articles and columns for local publications. She was the proud author of two published novels, Buried Heart and Buried Secrets. She loved serving the Milwaukee community through her work on the boards of Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the United Performing Arts Fund (first woman Board President), the Pabst Theater Foundation, and University School of Milwaukee. She was recognized for her commitment to the performing arts with the UPAF Stiemke Award in 1997, and for distinguished community service with the Mount Mary College Pro Urbe Award in 1995 and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation William C. Frye Award in 1998.

Anne was a BIG fan of the Milwaukee Brewers, a long-time season ticket holder who could be seen regularly in the stands wearing her bright yellow Brewers hat, and the author of a column (“Anne in the Stands”) for the Brewers’ website. She was particularly fond of Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Ryan Braun, Henry Aaron, Nate Hardwick, Bob Uecker, and Bud Selig.  

Anne was known for her charm, quick wit, lively sense of humor,  friendly and welcoming personality, compassion, empathy, openness to people and ideas, and her leadership ability. She was intelligent, kind, generous, inclusive, down-to-earth, and funny. She loved her husband, her children, her grandchildren, her parents, her brother, her cousins, her in-laws, and her college roommates.  She enjoyed, her grandkids’ concerts, plays, and athletic contests, and – following in her mother’s footsteps – she would write backwards notes to them in her left-handed script. She liked dollhouses and making the dollhouse people fall down the stairs. She was a grammar ace and a lover of people, puns, family games, music (particularly rock ‘n’ roll), reading mystery novels, writing, perhaps math but definitely not arithmetic, talking, gardening, roses, theater, singing, the Gold Dusters, dancing, tennis, talking, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Brett Favre, Aaron Rogers, red convertibles, blue and turquoise, talking, crossword puzzles, Scrabble, the Gulf of Mexico, her lap pool, Turner Classic Movies, shoes, talking, vanilla ice cream and Culver’s. She enjoyed the company of her book club, tennis group, gardening club, and writing group. And she was always known to be the first to dive into any pool, lake, or ocean, no matter how cold the water.

Anne died peacefully New Year’s morning after a six-year struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. The family greatly appreciates the tender care provided by Ginny, Babette, Heidi, Sara, Devin, Mary, Felicia, Margaret, Laurie, the nurses of Aurora at Home Hospice, particularly Jennifer F, and the devoted attention of Ana.

She is survived by her husband Fred Stratton, their three children Margy (Greg Norman), Diane (Sandy Ballou), and Rick (Keri Sarajian), and nine grandchildren: Ellie, Mimi and Annie Norman, Charlie, Lucy and Henry Ballou, and Beckett, Jocelyn and Cameron Stratton. She was preceded in death by her brother William P. Youngclaus III and parents William P. Youngclaus, Jr. and Eleanor Barker Youngclaus.

Family will greet friends on Saturday, January 18th 2:00-4:00 p.m. at St. Christopher’s Church, 7845 N. River Road in River Hills, WI, with a service honoring Anne’s life to follow at 4:00 p.m.     

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association (620 S. 76th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53214) or the organization you most closely associate with Anne would be greatly appreciated.