Pamela Sue Rewey

Rewey, Pamela Sue

Madison - Pamela S. Rewey, 69, of Madison, passed in her sleep Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at home with her husband at her side. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 23, 2016 with Father Roger Nilles at St. Peter Catholic Church, 5001 N. Sherman Ave., Madison. Friends may call from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Friday, January 22, 2016 at the Ryan Funeral Home, 2418 N. Sherman Ave., Madison, or from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service on Saturday at the church. There will be a celebration lunch after the service. Family burial will be in afternoon at the Rock Church Cemetery, rural Livingston.

The family requests no flowers. Memorials may be made to the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, 612 W. Main Street, Suite 200, Madison, WI 53703 or at www.lwvwi.org.

Pamela Sue Rewey was born in Wausau on September 15, 1946, the daughter of Clemens S. and Arleen J. (Sicklinger) Wadzinski. Pam grew up in the Wausau area except for two years in Milwaukee when she thought she wanted to be nun. She graduated from Schofield D.C. Everest High School in 1964 and graduated from UW-Madison in 1968 with a B.S. in Education with majors in Math and English. On August 12, 1967 she married Michael Rewey in Rothschild, WI. Later in 1988 she earned an MS in Education Administration from UW-Madison.

Pam taught high school English for three years at Wausau H.S. and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln H.S. before taking off time to raise four children until they began school. From 1980 to 1987 she was the Stevens Point YMCA Program Director for Aquatics and Women's Programs. She followed Mike's career to Madison in 1987 where she worked for Wood Communications Group and was in charge of planning all of the social events for the recommissioning of the USS Wisconsin in Mississippi. She then was asked to be the Exec. Director of the Madison East YMCA during its tough times and revived it financially. That was followed by a career at the Wisconsin Association of School Boards as Legislative Services Coordinator until her retirement in 2007.

Throughout life Pam loved being involved. In Stevens Point she was active in Junior Women's Club, served as volunteer religious coordinator at Stevens Point Newman Center, and was elected to the Stevens Point School Board where she served as President for five years. Also in Stevens Point she was active in the League of Women Voters which became a lifelong love. She was president of the League in Stevens Point then later in Dane County and more recently she served on the state board. While in Madison she was an active 25-year member of Madison East-Monona Rotary Club most notably volunteering as a Rotary Youth Exchange Officer where she opened her home to many international visitors. She also volunteered as the state director of the YMCA Youth In Government program for several years.

Pam was an extremely active person who loved to stay fit. While in Stevens Point she won many age-group awards as a runner. She loved to dance and could do a mean Polish hop. Pam encouraged her children to be involved in sports and civic life and she spent many hours with their endeavors. She educated her children with road trips throughout the US and Canada. Later with Mike she took up biking and saw the world on bike trips - Wisconsin, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Cuba. Other trips were to Hawaii, Colombia, Korea and Iceland. Every trip was an active trip. Highlights were hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, enjoying a private display of the Lone Star Geyer in Yellowstone at the end of a long family hike, and standing at the unrestrained edge of a huge waterfall in the wilderness of Iceland. When not traveling Pam enjoyed attending Wisconsin football, volleyball, and women's basketball games as well as APT and Milwaukee Rep plays. There was even more to come in retirement, but she was stopped short by Parkinson's Disease.

Pam is survived by her four children, Wade (Gemini) of Stoughton; Brianna (Torsie) Judkins of Tarrytown, NY, Nathaniel (Betty) of Arlington, MA and Rachel (Scott) Gunnells) of St. Augustine, FL.; special Colombian son Francisco (Lacey) Mesa of Shorewood, MN; ten grandchildren, Clove and Lake Rewey, Arleen and Eleanor Judkins, Oliver Rewey-Agudelo, Gabriel, Reuben and Alexandra Gunnells, and Natalia and Nicholas Mesa. She is further survived by her father, Clemens; siblings, Jeff (Fay) Wadzinski, Russell (Debra) Wadzinski; Jodell (Bill) Brumfield, and Jay (Carrie) Wadzinski; and many nieces and nephews. She joins her mother, Arleen, who preceded her in 2009.

Those who survive know there is much more to her story. She touched so many lives. Pam's life was always devoted to a better world and she was blessed by all those she knew. May God bless you, Pam, friend, wife, companion and lover, mom, grandmother…

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit www.ryanfuneralservice.com

Ryan Funeral Home

& Cremation Services

2418 N. Sherman Ave

608 - 249 - 8257