Joanne Abell's Obituary
Joanne Margaret (Zwitzer) Abell, 93, passed away on November 18, 2023, in Clearwater, Florida. Joanne was born January 13, 1930, in Rochester, New York. After attending Cazenovia College in New York, she married Earl Abell. They raised a family of five children. In later years, they split their time between Clearwater and a cabin in Westcliffe, Colorado, where they gazed upon the Sangre de Cristo mountains.
Over the years Joanne took up many different kinds of work to support herself and family. She was a waitress, a telephone operator, picked pickles, worked at the Larsen canning company in Cambria WI during the bean and corn packs, made socks at the Portage hosiery, clerked at various departments within the UW-Madison campus over 8 years, and also lived in LA for two years working at a law firm.
Joanne loved animals, trees, chocolate, and her grandchildren. She read thousands of books, took daily walks, and attended Zumba and Qi Chung classes. At age 78 she joined her children, grandchildren and nephew to climb Mt Herring in Colorado, altitude 9,272 ft, to scatter her husband’s ashes.
Joanne is survived by her children Katie (NYC), Christine (FL), Peter (Lise Aangeenbrug, CO), Tracy (Kurt Bair, CO), and Steve (Glorimar Guzman, WI); grandchildren Alex, Jamie, Fletcher, Harlan, Sanjay, Daniela, and Ilan; great-grandchildren Lilou and River. She was preceded in death by her husband, brother Richard, and son-in-law Bob Martin (NYC). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joanne's name to the Humane Society humanesociety.org
Memorial details to follow.
What’s your fondest memory of Joanne?
What’s a lesson you learned from Joanne?
Share a story where Joanne's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Joanne you’ll never forget.
How did Joanne make you smile?