Judith Ann Menning

Judith Ann Menning, age 84, passed away in the early hours of Friday October 6, 2023, at the Cottages Memory Care Unit in Shawano. She was born on January 16, 1939, in Shawano, the daughter of Fredrick and Hildegard (Mueller) Bocher and grew up and attended grade school in Cecil. She attended Shawano High School and on the last day of her freshman year, she asked Richard Menning to join her at a party. They were married on June 25, 1960, right after she received her RN degree from Deaconess Hospital school of nursing and Dick was still a college student. She went on to get her BSN from Alverno University and her MSN from Medical College of Wisconsin. She was supervisor of Surgery and Emergency Room at the Shawano Hospital for more than 15 years and was Director of Nursing for eight years. She also worked for the Shawano County Public Health Department for ten years.
Judy was a member of Peace United Church of Christ where she served as Church President, served on numerous committees, taught Sunday School, led the Chime Choir and sang (tenor) in the choir for over fifty years. She also was chairman of the pie baking group for the fair stand for several years.
Judy had been active in Jobs Daughters when young and as a leader when older. She was very active in the AORN (operating room nurses association) and took an active part in their annual conventions. Because of this activity, she was selected to be on a committee that met internationally every two years to review, from a nurse's standpoint and new equipment developed for the operating room.
Judy was the ultimate multitasker. She could crochet, watch TV and carry on a conversation with other people in the room all at the same time. She was also the ultimate collector of coins, stamps, cookie jars (what do you do with 165 McCoy cookie jars?), pin cushions, string holders, hand puppets and was an accomplished basket weaver. She also furnished a four-bedroom house with East Lake antique furniture. She enjoyed the hunt for collectables more than possessing them and there weren't many antique shops and flea markets in Wisconsin that she hadn't frequented. She was also the ultimate horse show mom. When her children were showing the families Quarter Horses, she could trim a horse, clean horse pens and drive a truck with the best of them. She also tolerated her husband's passion for sports cars and could drive every one of them like a race car driver. She was also a partner with her husband in owning Catencamp Transfer and Storage in Shawano and Owens and Skar Trucking in Rice Lake. Along with all this she was also a long-term breast cancer survivor after enduring the rigors of surgery, radiation and chemo treatments.
Judy is survived by her husband, Dick; daughters, Chris (Don) Bartz of Shawano and Dr. Ann (Brian, Colonel, USAF, ret.) Yolitz of Lakeville, MN and son, Bob (Carla) Menning of Black Creek; brother, Bob (Jan) Bocher of Waukesha; grandchildren, Kyle (Heather) and Kerstin Bartz, David (Sarah) and Dr. Jason (Greg Williams) Yolitz, Elly and Ray Menning; great-grandchildren, Zoe Bartz and Warren Yolitz; and her sister in-law, Barbra Yahr.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Fritz and Hildegard Bocher; her in-laws Ray and Hope Menning; brother in-law Don Yahr; and her special grandmother, Emma Mueller who lived with the Bocher family when Judy was growing up.
A visitation will be held on Friday November 24, 2023, from 4 until 7 at Swedberg Funeral home in Shawano. Private family memorial services will be held at a later date at St. Johns United Church of Christ in Cecil, the church where Judy was baptized, confirmed and where she and Dick were married and where her mother played the organ for many years. Pastor Moira Finley will be the officiant. In lieu of flowers, you may wish to donate to Peace Church, any Alzheimer's Association or charity of your choice.
We would like to extend a special thank you to The Cottages Memory Care staff, Promedica and Heartland Hospice for the extraordinary care given to Judy. Judy self-diagnosed herself with Alzheimer's Disease and accepted it with grace and charm. Being the nurse that she was we feel that she understood that she was receiving the best possible care. We knew she was.