Joanne Krenz

Joanne Krenz (born Joanne A. Marks, January 1939) passed away on April 16, 2020 at her home in Warsaw, IN at the age of 81. Joanne was a loving and compassionate wife of 53 years to her beloved husband, Joseph, a caring and kind mother to both her sons and adored her grandchildren.

Joanne was born in a tiny town in western Minnesota, but her family soon migrates to Woodland, California where she was raised by her parents, James and Lovina Marks, along with her sisters and brother. After she graduated from Woodland High School in 1956, she lived in the greater Sacramento area and attended college; she was both an employee and department manager for Sacramento County into her mid-20’s.

By the middle of the 1960’s, Joanne was living in Southern New Jersey, where she was employed at the Traymore Hotel. Through mutual friends, she met a young man names Joe Krenz in 1967 and they fell in love. They married in late 1967 at Grace Lutheran Church in Somers Point, NJ. Joe was a machinist and mechanical engineer by trade, having attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Their first, Harry was born in the summer of 1971 and the family relocated to Warsaw, Indiana for an opportunity at a wheel rim manufacturer, Sun Metal.

Joanne volunteered at church functions in the community, and provided an excellent home for her new family. Joanne enjoyed exploring and taking walks, studying geology and nature, cooking and gardening, classical music and movie musicals, and was a voracious reader.

In 1976, they welcomed a second son, Mark, into their lives. The Krenz family enjoyed occasional vacations around the United States, and even Canada, visiting both the East and West Coasts to see friends and relatives over the years.

In the late 1970’s, she returned to college and studied literature, arts, and the humanities. She graduated in December of 1985 with a bachelor of Arts, with honors, from IPFW in Fort Wayne. During the 1990’s, she wrote several creative works, including an unpublished novel inspired by her formative years visiting the northern California coastline with relatives and friends.

Joanne attended the First Presbyterian Church in Warsaw and believed in following the golden rule that Christ taught. She believed in forgiving others, and being a positive role model, and in looking  for the good in the people she met. She will be greatly missed by her husband, sons, and a host of other family members and friends.

Joanne is survived by her husband Joseph Krenz (Warsaw), her son Harry J. Krenz (Warsaw), her son Mark (wife Marina) (Bloomington, her sister bonnie Archer(California) , her sister in law June Avis (Virginia) , and by her grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her father James Marks (B. 1906, North Dakota, d. 1949, California), her mother Lovina Lein Marks (b. 1910, Wisconsin, d. 1995, Sacramento, California), her sister Velma Marks and her brother James A. Marks.

A private ceremony was held in Milford, IN on April 20 ^th , 2020, and she will be laid to rest in Laurel Memorial Park, NJ later this month. Due to circumstances, in lieu of a public funeral, a Celebration of Life gathering will be held at a later date this year.