Joan M. Gauwitz

Joan M (VandenBerg) (75) passed away in the loving arms of her family and her long time Pastor, Father Neri Greskoviak on December 20, 2014 at 153PM. Joan has been a lifelong member of the Peoria and Germantown Hills community and will be memorized in the same church in which she was married in October 10th 1959. Joan who was born in Dixon, IL in August 24, 1939, died in Kindred Hospital, Peoria. Joan has lived most of her life in Germantown Hills, most recently in 805 Woodland Knolls. Joan was the daughter of John and Margaret (Brannan) VandenBerg, long term residents of Far Hills, Germantown Hills. Joan grew up in Peoria until the family moved to Far Hills where Joan graduated from Metamora High School in 1957. The family built, block by block, one of the original houses in Far HIlls. She married Larry J Gauwitz in 1959 and lived in Germantown Hills until 1982 when the family moved to Slidell, Louisiana. Joan made three major moves in support of her husband Larry?s Construction Supervisor career. Before 1982, she raised her family and worked in Hospital Admissions at Proctor Hospital in Peoria. Joan continued her working career as a medical administrator for the Tulane University Group for a prominent Neurosurgeon. In 1985, the family moved to Austin, Texas were she continued her career working for the Texas Medical Foundation until 1987. She and her family worked in several medical groups in suburban Boston, living in Chelmsford, Massachusetts until 1993. She enjoyed her 11 year foray out from Peoria which led to her choice of Email address and license which was LATXMA, Louisiana, Texas and Massachusetts. The family returned home to live in Germantown Hills from 1993 to her death in 2014. After moving back to Peoria, she worked for Unity Point Home Health Care at Methodist Hospital in Peoria. She worked the final 9 years of her life as the Administrator at St Mary at Lourdes Church in Germantown Hills under Father Neri Greskoviak and Father Gregory Jozefiak. Her weekly duties included payroll and the weekly church bulletin. During her life Joan was a long-time member of Perseptor Alpha Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, a national sorority for women, dedicated to social, cultural and civic enrichment of its members. ! Joan loved to garden and and kept a beautiful lots of flowers around the outside the house. Before her long time battle with kidney disease, she loved to bowl and ride her bicycle. Later, she took up sewing and needlepoint. She loved to travel and visited much of the country during her moves to the south and east. Later, she and her daughter Tina visited Alaska on a small boat Photographer?s cruise as well as trips to Baja Sea of Cortez, Mexico, Hawaii, Yellowstone and the Colorado Rockies. In the early days of her marriage, she and the family went on fishing trips to Canada and on muzzle loading shoots around the United States. Joan was dedicated to her work and to her church. She worked throughout her life and combined that dedication when she worked at St Mary at Lourdes. The last day before entering the hospital in December, she went to the church and did the payroll and church bulletin one last time. Joan is predeceased by her parents and one brother Jack VandenBerg who passed in November of this year. She is survived by one daughter, Tina Gauwitz and one son, Tim Gauwitz (Mary), both of Germantown Hills. In addition, one grandson, Caleb Gauwitz,! also resides in Germantown Hills. She is also survived by a sister, Mary Beth Steele (Steve) of Colorado Springs, Colorado; brothers, George (Mary Dee) VandenBerg of Roswell, Georgia; Doctor Robert Vandenberg (Carole) of Athens, Georgia; Captain (USN, ret) Thomas VandenBerg (Theresa) of California, Maryland plus nieces and nephews and numerous friends in the Peoria and Germantown Hills areas. Visitation will take place from 4-7pm on Sunday December 28th with Rosary at 3:30pm at Mason Funeral Home Germantown Hills Chapel. Funeral Services will be held at Joan?s Church, St. Mary of Lourdes Catholic Church in rural Metamora at 10:00am Monday December 29, 2014 with Father Gregory Jozefiak and Father Neri Greskoviak celebrating the Funeral Mass. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the gitm Foundation at PO box 3663, Peoria, Illinois 61612 or online at www.believegitm.com or to the National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org online or National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd St. New York, New York, 10016. There will be a reception immediately after Mass at Stokes Hall at the Church. Online condolences at www.masonfuneralhomes.com