JoAnne Wasielewski was born on February 28, 1937 in Detroit, MI. She was the first of 3 children born to Joseph and Helen (Sarin) Wasielewski. Joseph provided for his family by working as a spot welder at L.A. Young Spring & Wire. He later moved on to open his own television repair company. Helen was a homemaker that enjoyed cooking and baking. The holidays were always celebrated with an abundance of homemade traditional polish meals and pastries.

JoAnne grew up in their home on Woodlawn with her brother Joe and her sister Stephanie. All 3 were born within a 6 year span. JoAnne was the perfect big sister. Her patience and gentle, mild mannered nature proved to be the perfect combination to be the peacemaker of the family. Aside from only one incident of jealousy where she wanted to bite off the toe of her new baby brother Joe, she adored her siblings and loved her role as the big sister. The 3 children quickly grew close as siblings and found they made the ideal friends. The girls would convince Joe to play store with them, in return they would play war with him. They shared a special bond that would carry them through adulthood.

Her parents guided them in a home balanced with both love and discipline. Helen was a proud parent with high expectations. She ran a tight ship and expected her children to be respectful and proper. They had responsibilities and chores to help with household duties. Joe was a bit more laid back in his approach to parenting. His sense of humor and quick wit provided an ideal balance to a memorable childhood. JoAnne loved and respected both of her parents. She always wanted to please them and was proud to set the tone for her siblings to follow.

Her parents placed great value on education. They encouraged their children to work hard telling them their hard work would pay off. This held true as JoAnne was exceptionally intelligent. She was double promoted twice and skipped both the 2nd and 4th grades. She later attended Cass Technical High School. After High School, she was accepted to Henry Ford Nursing School. She graduated with honors in 1957 as a Registered Nurse. She was the first in her family to go graduate from college. Joe and Stephanie would proudly follow her path.

Overall, as JoAnne grew into adulthood she took with her a strong sense of family. This was the greatest gift she learned from her childhood… the importance of family. As she ventured out into the working world as a young woman, she began a new social network. This is where she would meet one of the most important people in her life. At the time she did not realize this, but things quickly evolved and that persons’ importance became apparent.

JoAnne became an employee at Henry Ford Hospital on West Grand Boulevard. She loved her job working in labor and delivery as well as the newborn nursery. Her kind, passive personality, led her to become a favorite on the floor. With her warm smile and great laugh she quickly befriended many. Including her future Mother-in-law, a sweet custodian named Helen Winiarski.

It wasn’t long after Helen met JoAnne that she realized this was the one woman who would be perfect for her oldest son, Walter. Helen arranged for them to meet. She loved JoAnne and was thrilled that her matchmaking skills worked. The moment her son Walter met JoAnne, he knew this was the girl for him. She was his soul-mate and they could not wait to begin their life together.

JoAnne and Walter were married on October 22, 1960 at Patronage of St. Joseph Church. A honeymoon in Washington DC followed the wedding. Upon their return, the newlyweds settled on Pierson, on the west side of Detroit. It was here that they remained for over 25 years. They raised their 2 wonderful children, David and Christine, in that home. After the birth of David, JoAnne made the decision to no longer work as a nurse and focus on raising her children.

JoAnne loved being a mother and absolutely adored her children. She provided a safe environment for her children to grow where they knew they were loved. Even through their adulthood, there was never a departure, arrival or goodnight that David and Christine weren’t met with a kiss. She felt the need to nurture and protect them from the dangers of the world. She was always sure to question all of their activities so she could comfortably assess the level of risk associated. She was fair in her concerns and there was only one activity that she absolutely forbade. David was not allowed to play football due to her concern of a prior concussion. Walter was upset with her, but she stood her ground making it clear that it was her responsibility to protect her children. They were her world and she couldn’t imagine it without them.

She shared her value of the importance of education with Walter. She was able to run the household on a tight budget, so together they could provide their children with 12 years of Catholic school education. David and Christine would sometimes balk at her creative cost-effective meal planning. Some meals she had to entice them with the guarantee of pudding for dessert. Although the budget was sometimes difficult, she always made sure she had enough set aside to make holidays and birthdays extra special. Ultimately she was helping teach her children the value of the dollar and life skills on how to live within your means.

JoAnne loved going on vacations. She loved the change of scenery, but most of all just loved being with her family. Walter did not like flying so all of their vacations entailed long, adventurous car rides. When David and Christine were young, the family would head to Florida, where they enjoyed Disneyworld from the time it first opened. Later, they spent 2 summers taking 3 week road trips out west. The ultimate destination of both trips was Las Vegas, where they enjoyed staying at Circus Circus. JoAnne was never a girl scout, but she certainly packed like one. She was the best travel companion, because she was sure to be prepared for any situation. She packed winter jackets for the trips out west. Everybody thought that was silly as it was summer and 100 degrees. JoAnne was the one laughing when Walter and the kids decided they were freezing in the mountains at night and had to ask her for the winter jackets. Another memorable trip was one without Walter, because it entailed flying. JoAnne and Christine were able to go to Hawaii with her brother-in-law, Victor and sister-in-law Gloria. It was a trip of a lifetime for her and Christine. There was plenty of sight-seeing and the opportunity to visit her brother Joe and his family that lived there.

JoAnne loved attending gatherings and parties with Walter. Whether they were with family or friends, she never missed the opportunity to enjoy a party. With her strong sense of family values, it was no surprise that she enjoyed celebrations with those closest to her. Birthday partys and holidays were her favorite. She was always up to play any party game and provided many great laughs and memories for her children and grandchildren.

As her children became adults she had a sense of great satisfaction knowing that she had raised 2 good kids and beamed with pride in all of their successes. She took comfort in knowing that her loving son-in-law Mark married her daughter as Mark and JoAnne shared similar values, particularly the importance of family. After David and Christine had families of their own, JoAnne was so proud to become a grandmother and loved having babies in her life again. Her grandchildren, Katelyn (Brian), David, Nicholas, Matthew, Bethany and Ethan were the apples of her eye. She was so proud of each of them and she was genuinely interested in every aspect of their lives. She was always sure to inquire about all that was happening around them. She went out of her way to make sure that all of her grandchildren felt equally loved. If she did something for one, she would do something similar for each of the others.

JoAnne Winiarski was a loving woman who lived her life to please others. She found happiness in making those around her happy. Her warm smile and infectious laugh made everybody around her feel welcome. Those who knew her will remember a loving, gentle woman with a heart of gold. She will be greatly missed by all that loved her.

JoAnne Winiarski, age 78, February 27, 2016. Beloved wife of the late Walter for 52 years. Dearest mother of David and Christine (Mark) Kopel. Proud grandmother of Katelyn (Brian), David, Nicholas, Matthew, Bethany and Ethan. Dear sister of Stephanie (the late Jerome) and Joe (Monika). Loving aunt of Barbara, Susan, Jeffrey, Elisabeth, Kevin, Michael, Elizabeth, Lisa, Annette, Margaret and Paula.

Visitation Wednesday 5pm-8pm with a Rosary 7pm at McCabe Funeral Home, 31950 W. 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. In State Thursday 10:30am until time of Mass 11am at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 4300 Walnut Lake Rd., West Bloomfield. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Memorial Contributions may be made to The Michigan Humane Society.