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Joan Ploetz Obituary
Joan M. Ploetz
Aug. 28, 1947 - Oct. 20, 2022
BARABOO - Joan M. Ploetz passed away peacefully on October 20, 2022 at St. Clare Hospice House in Baraboo, WI after battling pancreatic cancer for 14 months.
Joan was born August 28, 1947, in Danville, PA. Her parents, Leonard H. and Emily G. Ploetz, subsequently settled in Baraboo, owners of Ploetz Furniture.
Joan graduated from UW-Madison with a B.S degree in Math and then continued her education with four graduate degrees: M.S. in Math from Indiana University, M.S in Statistics from the University of Kentucky, a MBA in Finance from Wharton School of Business and lastly a M.A in Fine Arts at the University of Southern California.
Her career began in retailing at Shillito's (now Macy's) Department Store in Cincinnati, where she soon was promoted to buyer. After several years, she changed industries to pursue banking.
She started at Chemical Bank in Manhattan where she was in the Corporate Lending Department. She then worked for Wells Fargo Bank in Chicago and Security Pacific Bank in California. She returned to Baraboo to run the family furniture business and take care of her aging parents.
Joan loved to travel, eat at good restaurants, tour museums, and attend Broadway plays. She loved her East Coast visits for every holiday with her family. She was a very kind, generous and gentle person.
Her family was everything to her. She is survived by her sister, Kathy (Steve) Riepenhoff of Skillman, NJ; godson and nephew, Matthew (Katherine) Riepenhoff of Neshanic Station, NJ; and niece, Courtney (Whitney) Doucette of Wilton, CT; great-niece, Callie; and great-nephew, Quinn.
She will be forever missed.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Joan's name to St. Clare Hospice House, 915 12th St., Baraboo, WI 53913.
Visitation will be Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at St Joseph's Catholic Church followed by Mass at 11:00 a.m. and Christian burial.
Streaming for the service is available on Facebook. St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Baraboo, WI. The Redlin-Ertz Funeral Home is assisting the family.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Joan Ploetz
Sponsored by Redlin Funeral Home Inc.
4 Entries
Kathy Barga
October 30, 2023
We stopped several times to visit with Joan on our way back to Minneapolis from seeing our daughters in Madison and Middleton. We had just moved to MN in the early 90s when I asked the middle school librarian, Patty Ploetz, if she knew Joan Ploetz from Baraboo ~ I was shocked to learn that they were cousins! Twenty years just melted away and we began to get in touch more than just at Christmas! We had dinner at Fields with Joan and her mother; we visited her at her store and at her home; we reminisced a lot. And, oh, did we have a wonderful reunion in 2009 at IU with our group of girls from Eigenmann dorm! She was so positive and had such a joyful laugh. We sure do miss her.
Marianne Bange
December 14, 2022
Joan and I became friends at the University of Kentucky, 50 years ago. And we stayed friends, often getting together when Joan would visit family in NJ. She was so smart and so very nice to everyone. She will be missed.
Mike & Kathy Barga
November 2, 2022
Joan was a great friend in our little IU family. We all just bonded, had dinners together, had wonderful times with each other in Eigenmann dorm, always a lot of laughs. Was it that we all had a common drive to study hard (we did!) or was it our great sense of humor? Maybe both. Such fun. Will miss her practical and fun personality. So glad to have reconnected/visited in the 2000's. Our sincere sympathy to her family. Kathy & Mike Barga
Jan Palmbos
November 1, 2022
Went to high school with Joan. Such a sweet and genuine gal! RiP
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