Maureen MacGillis

Maureen “Tweetie” MacGillis, age 70, of Marinette, WI passed away surrounded by love on March 12, 2023 after a long and brave battle with Lewy Body Dementia.

Tweetie was born on February 24, 1953 to Catherine and James MacGillis in Milwaukee, WI. She and her three brothers were raised in the lakeside village of Whitefish Bay, WI.

Tweetie graduated from Whitefish Bay High School in 1971. She worked at the Red Owl on night shift and cared for her mother during the day. In 1975 she married James Hoppa with whom she had three children, and divorced in 1981.

Tweetie stayed busy raising her three children, caring for her mother, and running a in-home daycare business in the same home where she was raised in Whitefish Bay. In 1981 she met and began dating Jim Samplaski, her best friend and the love of her life. They married on October 1, 1988.

Tweetie enhanced her caregiving skills by earning her nursing degree from MATC Milwaukee in 1985 and becoming a registered nurse. During her career, she served for 11 years at St. Mary’s Hospital - Milwaukee in the Emergency, Oncology, Hospice, Burn and Cardiac departments. When they relocated to Marinette in 1996, Tweetie spent the next 17 years of her career serving at Aurora Bay Area Medical Center - Marinette in the Emergency and in PACU (post anesthesia care unit) departments, retiring in 2013. Throughout her career she was nominated for and won several awards including Employee of the Month and DAISY Awards. 

Tweetie may have been busier in retirement than she was during her career: gardening, sculpting, knitting, crafting, caring for her grandchildren, and enjoying life with Jim, several dogs and cats, their close friends, and their family which they visited often. 

Maureen was preceded in death by her parents Catherine (née Hanson) and James MacGillis, and her grandson Andrew Tohulka. She is survived by husband James Samplaski, daughter Terry (Tony) Knoke (née Hoppa), son Thomas (Kimi Pescio Baracco) Hoppa, son Daniel (Jessica Mosley) Hoppa, grandson Sam Stockstill, granddaughters Amelie, Chloe and Riley Hoppa, brothers Mike (Patricia) MacGillis, Pat (Jan) MacGillis, Paul (Kathy) MacGillis and countless beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and relatives.

There will be a gathering in celebration of Tweetie's life on Sunday April 2, 2023 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm at Wichmann Funeral Home, 537 N. Superior Street in Appleton. There will be a brief memorial service with a sharing of memories at 3:00pm at the funeral home.

The family would like to gratefully acknowledge the exceptional care delivered by the staff at Heartwood Homes in Appleton, Dr. Williams and Synergy Health, and the staff of AseraCare Hospice. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests in memoriam donations to the Lewy Body Dementia Association https://www.lbda.org/ or the Parkinson’s Foundation http://parkinson.org/