Obituaries & Guestbook

Joan F. Daane, age 78, of Sheboygan, passed away on Monday, January 18, 2021, at the Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice in Sheboygan Falls. She was born on January 2, 1943, to Lillian (Gerbing) Kolberg and Albert Kolberg Jr. and was raised in Howards Grove.

Joan began her professional career as a registered nurse and would later become a psychotherapist and certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor.  Following high school graduation, she earned a degree from the Milwaukee County School of Nursing and worked as a civilian nurse in a U.S. Army base clinic in Germany for 3 years.  When she returned, Joan began employment at Sheboygan Memorial Hospital and worked in a variety of nursing areas before focusing on psychiatric nursing.  She left Memorial to serve as a nursing supervisor and continuing education coordinator at the Sheboygan County Comprehensive Health Center, a long-term psychiatric care facility.

In 1971, Joan transitioned to outpatient psychiatric services.  She accepted a newly created nursing position at the Sheboygan County Mental Health Center.  At that time, she pursued education and training as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor and, eventually, a psychotherapist and provided counseling services to individuals, couples, families and groups and helped to develop programs for high-risk substance abuse clients and outreach services for youth, including a mental health crisis line.

After 15 years, Joan left the Mental Health Center to become a member of the Mental Health Department of the Sheboygan Clinic.  She continued to practice at the clinic as a psychotherapist and substance abuse counselor until her retirement in 2008.

On December 18, 1971, Joan was joined in marriage to John Daane.  She was a mother of two children and grandmother to four.

Joan was a member of Bethany Reformed Church of Sheboygan.  Her faith was an essential part of her life.  She served her church in a variety of ways and appreciated the relationships she developed there.

Joan was a warm, open, honest, sociable, and caring person.  She enjoyed spending time with her friends and family. She especially appreciated time spent caring for her grandchildren and sharing with them her faith and values, wisdom and humor, life stories and new experiences.  She was compassionate and readily accepted opportunities to help or serve others in need.

Joan was also an energetic, independent and determined individual who welcomed challenges in both her personal and professional life.  She enjoyed taking on new interests and pursuits – from jewelry making and metal sculpture to tanning animal hides and doing stone and tile work.  She preferred to do things herself and master the tasks. In her professional life, these attributes could be seen in her vocational choices and career moves, work with clients and continual development of therapy skills.

Joan was creative and artistic.  She considered attending art school after high school but decided this was “too impractical”.  Her artistic nature found self-expression in her somewhat unconventional style of dress and home décor.  Joan enjoyed wearing unique pieces of clothing and making some of her own apparel and wardrobe accessories.   Similarly, she would decorate her log home with unusual pieces of furniture and other décor or would craft her own pieces of art.  Her home decoration would continually change and would extend to gardening and raising an assortment of decorative indoor and outdoor plants.

Joan was musically inclined.  She sang and taught herself to play guitar and piano without any formal training.  She had an aptitude for harmonizing and playing instruments by ear.  She loved making music, and, for a period of time, she sang professionally with a band that performed at local establishments.  She enjoyed playing guitar and singing with friends and family, especially her sisters, daughter, granddaughters, and her father, who was a professional musician.

Joan was curious and fairly adventuresome.  She enjoyed traveling, exploring places, and experiencing people and local culture.  When possible, she would choose activities which offered greater exposure to local residents and culture and the potential for different experiences than those of the typical tourist.  She would often recall adventures she had learning to navigate life in Germany and other European countries without knowing the language or local customs.  Joan had an affinity for the past and an enduring interest in Native American culture, particularly that of tribes in the western and southwestern United States and Mexico.  She enjoyed spending time on trips to these areas exploring geological sites, visiting reservations, talking with people about their culture and collecting artifacts.

Joan will be missed by her family and friends and by others whose lives she touched over the years.

Survivors include her husband, John; son, Bryan (Wendy) Daane, of Tampa, Florida; daughter, Natascha Arneson of Sheboygan Falls; grandsons, Jesse and Quinn Daane, of Tampa; granddaughters, Savannah and Shania Arneson of Campbellsport; sisters, Kathleen (Wayne) Schorer of Sheboygan Falls and Patricia (Jon) Mayer of Wauwatosa; brother-in-law, Robert (Marion) Daane of Vancover, WA; nephews, Christopher (Brie) Mayer, Evan Mayer, Mark (Angela) Schorer and Jonathan (Kathryn) Daane; nieces, Melanie (James) Gross and Tania (Kevin) Kolb and other extended family and friends.

A memorial service for Joan will be held on Saturday, August 14, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Bethany Reformed Church, 1315 Washington Ave. Sheboygan with Pastor Jon Garbison officiating.  Family and friends may gather at the church on Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at 11:00 a.m.  Interment will take place in the Gardens of Peace Mausoleum at Greenlawn Memorial Park in the Town of Sheboygan.

Memorials in Joan’s name may be sent to Bethany Reformed Church or to one of her favorite charities, “Save the Children”, www.savethechildren.org

The Reinbold-Novak Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.  Online condolences may be expressed at www.reinboldfh.com