Joyce M. Reak

Joyce Mae Cisco Reak, 94, of West Bend Wisconsin, died peacefully on Thursday July 6, 2023 following a brief illness.
She was born on January 28, 1929 in Marinette Wisconsin, to the late Anthony J. and Lillian (Anderson) Cisco.
The family moved to Beaver Dam Wisconsin in 1934 when Joyce was five years old. She was enrolled a year early in elementary school, where she would meet her future husband B. Bennett Reak in the third grade.
Joyce attended Beaver Dam High School and graduated with the class of 1946. Along with many of her classmates, she formed a group they called the Round Robin, with members corresponding regularly and gathering frequently for over seventy years.
Upon finishing high school, Joyce was accepted at the University of Wisconsin Madison, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Art and minoring in Zoology. She was the first in her family to graduate from college, and worked summers at the Green Giant canning factory in Beaver Dam to put herself through school. In 1949, she won a company scholarship that proclaimed her "National Sweetcorn Sweetheart."
Joyce was active in the PSI Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta during her time at the university and for many years following. She was Panhellenic Council President and a member of the Senior Council in 1950.
On June 23, 1951 Joyce was united in marriage to B. Bennett Reak at the former St. Peter's Catholic Church in Beaver Dam. The newlyweds moved to Milwaukee and Joyce began teaching Art and Biology at Nathan Hale High School in the city of West Allis. She retired in 1955, when her husband was inducted into the US Army During the Korean War, and the family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Following the conclusion of Bennett's military service in 1957, Joyce settled in West Bend with her husband, who had joined Weasler Engineering and Manufacturing. With two young children already part of the family, Joyce would go on to have three more children, in all of whom she inspired curiosity, independence, creativity, and a love of learning.
Although Joyce was fiercely committed to parenting her young children and caring for her extended family, she also pursued her appreciation for mid-century modernism, which was flourishing during this period. She instilled in her children an abiding appreciation for the clean lines, organic shapes, the bold play of color, and fusion of natural and industrial materials characteristic of the design movement. She was passionately involved in all aspects of developing and building the family home, which is one of the first post-and-beam residential structures in the area. She occasionally mused about the fraught process of finding a builder who would tackle what was then a ground-breaking method of construction. Her children loved growing up in a home with an open floor plan and extensive glass walls that brought the outside in, although they sometimes complained about the uncomfortable Eames chairs and the fact that secrets were difficult in a house that opened to the inside.
Joyce was a charter member of St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Parish, and was very involved in supporting the elementary school. She was the go-to person for art and design for Cabrini School activities and fundraising events. In 2000, when the Cabrini parish commenced plans to build its new church, Joyce became a member of the Fine Arts Building Sub-Committee and was intimately involved in all aspects of the design and materials of the building. She also played a leadership role in the design and development of the surrounding stained glass windows. The way the interior ceiling soared to the sky which flooded the altar with light was especially moving to Joyce, as it represented to her a fundamental aspect of her faith: how the prayers of the faithful rise and the faithful are flooded with grace.
Along with her beloved husband Bennett, Joyce played an active role in the West Bend community, fundraising and hosting students with the International Student Program (ASP/ISP) at West Bend High School, and participating in the legendary annual pizza sales. She also lent a hand to the annual Rotary Club fishboils. She regularly volunteered organizing and installing exhibitions at the West Bend Museum of Art. She was a member of the West Bend Country Club for over forty years and an enthusiastic bridge player in both ladies and couples clubs.
In middle age, Joyce enjoyed accompanying Bennett on business trips to France, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. But her greatest joy was guiding her children to adulthood, seeing them take advantage of the college educations that meant so much to her, and flourish in the world. And even if she disagreed, she always honored her belief that each child should be their own authentic person.
Joyce remained devoted to Bennett, her husband of sixty-five years, and cared for him during the twelve last years of his life as he endured the devastations of a neurological condition. She would wheel him into Mass every Sunday, steer up to the front pews and enthusiastically celebrate the liturgy with her friends, neighbors and loved ones. That was when she was happiest.
Joyce was preceded in death by her parents; her brother Gordon Cisco; and her beloved husband of sixty-five years. She is survived by her five children and their respective spouses: Bridget and Doug Wheeler of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Peter and Debra Reak of West Bend; Allison Reak and Mark Dagel of Seattle, Washington; Paul and Lynelle Reak of West Bend; and Mary Reak of Seattle, Washington; her sister-in-law, Jeanne R. Haas, of Greenwich, Connecticut; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives, friends, and neighbors.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, July 12 at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, 1025 S. Seventh Avenue, in West Bend. Entombment will follow in Washington County Memorial Park. Friends are invited to visit with the family beginning at 11:30 am until the beginning of Mass. Following entombment, a luncheon will be hosted in the lower level of the Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks friends to consider contributions to St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, the School Sisters of Notre Dame Elm Grove, or a charity of your choice.
The Schmidt Family Funeral Home of West Bend is serving the family. If you would like to leave a message of comfort and condolence please visit www.schmidtfuneralhome.com