Janice O'Connell

Janice A. "Jan" O'Connell, age 85, town of Lakewood resident, passed away at her home on Sunday, January 18, 2026 after a long battle with cancer.

Jan was born in Neenah, Wisconsin on March 3, 1940 to Edward and Marie (Hogan) Kowalkowski. She graduated from St. Mary's High School in Menasha with the class of 1958. On May 9, 1959 she was united in marriage to Wayne P. O'Connell at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Menasha. The couple was blessed with seven children and 66 years of marriage. In addition to raising her family, Jan also worked for Kimberly-Clark Corporation for 25 years until her retirement. After retiring, Jan and Wayne enjoyed living on the Lake at their home near Lakewood; she loved tending to her flowers, gardening, relaxing near the lake, and always looked forward to the home-cooked fish fries with the fish caught locally by her family. Above all, Jan cherished the time spent with her family at any gathering with her loving husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

She is survived by her husband, Wayne O’Connell; five sons & daughters-in-law: Don (Sue) O’Connell of Neenah, Robert (Denice) O’Connell of Menasha, Mike (Shari) O’Connell of Menasha, Dennis (Lynn) O’Connell of Greenville, Gary and Gay "Micki" O’Connell of Neenah; one daughter & son-in-law, Sharon (Dale) Mueller of Minnetrista, Minnesota; her beloved grandchildren: Daniel (Forest) O’Connell, Katelin (Tyler) Farley, Emily (William) Primm, Kevin (Becca) O’Connell, Jason (Becki) O’Connell, Brian (Morgan) O'Connell, Eric (Lindsey) O'Connell, Sara (Dan) Chandler, Kayla (Jonny) Smolinski; Nicholas, Sam, Jack, Evan, and Riley O'Connell; Taylor (Jamie) O’Connell, Aaron O’Connell (special friend, Claire); Kellen and Finnegan Mueller; along with 22 great-grandchildren. She is further survived by one sister, Lois (Art) Miliander of Menasha; one sister-in-law, Marlene Kowalkowski; several brothers-in-law & sisters-in-law; nieces, nephews, wonderful neighbors and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Marie Kowalkowski; an infant daughter, Mary Ann; two sisters & brothers-in-law: Helen (Bob) Bednarowski, Geraldine (LeRoy) Tesch; and one brother, Bill Kowalkowski.

A funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, January 23, 2026 at St. Mary’s of the Lake Catholic Church in Lakewood, WI. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Fr. Praveen Pamisetti, with burial in the parish cemetery at a later date.

The family will greet relatives and friends at St. Mary’s of the Lake Catholic Church Friday morning from 9:30 until 11:15 a.m. There will be no Thursday evening visitation.

Online condolence messages may be shared at DejaMartin.com

Deja & Martin Funeral Chapels of Two Rivers is assisting the family with funeral arrangements.

The O'Connell family would like to express their sincere appreciation to the wonderful medical staff's of the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic and Aurora BayCare Medical Center of Green Bay for the compassionate care and kindness extended to Janice and our entire family. Special thanks also to the many neighbors and friends who supported Jan with love, support and well wishes throughout her journey. Your kindness is greatly appreciated.