Joanne Elizabeth Zorr

On Sunday, Dec. 6, Joanne (Jo) Zorr, a child of God, passed away at the age of 86. A devout Christian her entire life, Jo loved the Lord and was an active church member wherever she lived. Her days began with devotions and ended in prayer, with an abundance of thankfulness in between. As Jo took her final breaths she was comforted by scriptures and hymns that, in her words, “Directed my thoughts to the Lord.”
Jo was born on Nov. 18, 1934 in Elmhurst, Ill. to Arthur and Florence (Kreger) Schroeder. The family lived on the Southside in Chicago where she attended St. Stevens Lutheran School and graduated from Luther Institute. She married the love of her life, William G. Zorr, on July 31, 1955, and enjoyed a very happy marriage of 66 years while raising four wonderful children. She was blessed with five grandchildren and one great grandchild, all whom she dearly loved. It was important to her that she spent one-on-one time with each of them.
At 40-years-old, while her kids were in school, Jo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1976. She first worked for the Milwaukee Journal, covering news in the Fox Valley. She soon joined the staff of the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern as a feature writer. She also wrote a popular column named “Jo’s Journal.” Her gifted writing won many awards, both state and national. Jo was proud of her profession, once writing in her yearly Christmas Letter, “I continue to be drawn like a magnet to my work.”
She was an enthusiastic member of many book clubs and always kept a handful of books within arm’s reach. Her endless desire to learn lead her and Bill on countless adventures to many places around the globe.
During winter months, Jo and Bill escaped to Mission, Texas where they became Winter Texans for 22 years. Of the many retirement resort activities, the community theater was her favorite. It was there where friends were treated to her comedic nature and the occasional screeching laugh, one of her signature traits.
Summertime for Jo meant cottage time and many weekends at Bohners Lake near Burlington, Wis. She cherished the simplicities of life on the lake: fishing, reading, playing cards, and capturing photos of her beloved flowers and loons. Each year she would count down the days until the two-week family fishing retreat to northern Wisconsin. Jo enjoyed boasting to friends about winning a weekly fishing contest at Grizzly Bill’s Bait and Tackle Shop. She also won “Best Smell Coming Out of a Cabin'' for her famous lasagna.
Jo’s legacy of faith, family, friends, fishing, and fun will remain in our hearts forever.
She is survived by her husband Bill, children Eric (Peggy) Zorr, Cathy (Paul) Spiegel, Bill A. Zorr, Connie (Troy) Zak, grandchildren Chandra (Stuart) Fasbender, Ryan (Terry) Zak, Sean Zak, Jeffery Zorr and fiancée Shannon Gilson, and Bailey Zak, great-grandson Devin Fasbender, her brother Paul Schroeder, brother-in-law Erich Zorr, nieces, nephews, and many dear friends.
Our family would like to thank the wonderful, caring staff at: Dr. Weber's office, The Vince Lombardi Cancer Center, Aurora Hospice, Evergreen Manor and special thanks to each of the caregivers of Bright Star Care of Oshkosh for their compassion and concern for Jo and her family.
A celebration of Jo’s life will be held sometime in 2021 when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, the family has established a memorial in Jo’s name at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 2450 W 9th Ave. Oshkosh, WI 54904.