JOANNE M. BOYLE LEE

Joanne Marie Boyle Lee passed away following a long illness on Oct. 2, 2021, at 73.

She was born Dec. 15, 1947, in Dodgeville, a daughter of Lorraine Meylor Boyle and Joseph Michael Boyle; sister of Mary Boyle of Sunnyvale, California, Tess (Richard) Keller of Daphne, Alabama, Nick (Penni Secore) Boyle, of Asheville, North Carolina, and Patty (Gar Gibson) Boyle, of Madison, Wisconsin. Her children are Aimee Scalzo and Justin (Aileen O’Hearn) Lee of Scottsdale, Arizona. Joanne’s grandchildren are Stella Mueller and Wyatt Lee. She also is survived by brother-in-law Richard (Kathie Boyle) Yaffe, of Studio City, California, and beloved stepmother, Betty Webster Storlie Boyle, of Beloit, Wisconsin.

She was baptized at St. Michael’s Church in Calamine, Wisconsin, married at St. Rose’s Catholic Church, in Brodhead and most recently attended St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Beloit. She also attended Our Lady of Assumption (Beloit) where she was at school until 1961 when the family moved to Brodhead.

Joanne graduated from Brodhead High School in 1966, became a licensed beautician and then worked at Schwieger Furniture in the Whitewater area, helping to support them while her husband, Gary Lee, got his bachelor’s degree. They moved to Leland, Illinois, for his work and Joanne had an at-home day care for a few years. She then worked at DeKalb Genetics as a bookkeeper for 15 years. Aimee and Justin were born in Sandwich, Illinois, completing the family. In 1999, her marriage over, she moved to Beloit where she worked for Kerry Industries for 15 years. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2006 at age 59. What a celebration that was!

Joanne was a second mother to her five younger siblings and a strong willed, in-charge person who loved her charges deeply. In recent years, she spent many Thanksgivings in California with family and came to the rescue when as adults we were sick or needed comforting, even if it meant flying to Arizona or the West Coast, driving to Alabama, or local trips.

Joanne was active as a volunteer throughout her life, joining groups that provided community support. She was very active in Leland Junior Women’s Club, the Red Hats, Intermediate Women in Beloit and Beloit Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. She had a loyal band of friends, including the Fab Five from Leland and her longtime friends, Sandra Chamberlin and Sheryl Miller, whom she met in junior high at Brodhead; and Susie Scott. She and Sandra traveled to many domestic destinations. She was a member of Knitting, Wine, and Chocolate, played mahjong and belonged to a book club.  Ruth Jaeger was her friend, neighbor and sometime traveling companion. They visited many quilt stores in the U.S. and Canada.

She loved travelling to see family in Arizona, California, Alabama and Darlington, where her family had roots going back to the 1840s.  She also visited Ireland, many national parks, Hawaii, Alaska, New York, New England, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and many other places in the U.S.

Her parents, Joseph and Lorraine Meylor Boyle; sister, Kathie Boyle; and former husband, Gary Lee; preceded her in death.

The family would like to thank Dr. Steven Yang, Beloit, and home health care company, Bright Star. We are also grateful to the nursing staff and physicians at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee for their capable and caring medical care for more than two months. Our cousin Lori Fisher was especially helpful during this difficult time.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church (104 E. Harriet St., Darlington) with the Rev. Luke Syse officiating. Burial will be in Holy Rosary Cemetery.

The Erickson Funeral Home in Darlington is serving the family. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.ericksonfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations can go to Beloit Public Library; St. Jude’s Parish, Beloit; Caritas, Beloit; or Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Darlington.