Third Generation

13. Joyce Elizabeth FENSKE was born on 18 August 1916 in Monroe County, WI.^11,18 She graduated in 1934 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI. from Tomah High School. After 1963 she was a retailer with a shop called The Clothes Post in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.³ Joyce died on 29 November 2002 at the age of 86 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.¹¹

Obituary Notes: "Joyce Elizabeth (Fenske) Mades, 86, of Tomah, passed away on Friday, Nov. 29, 2002, at Tomah Memorial Hospital. She was born in Tomah to Herman Carl and Ethel Rebecca (Newton) Fenske on Aug. 18, 1916. She was united in marriage to Forrest H. Mades on Oct. 22, 1848.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Forrest H. "Frosty" Mades of Tomah; a daughter; Janice (Ronald) Sowle of Sturgeon Bay; a granddaughter, Lisa Lee Sowle of Sussex; a grandson, Kurt Cameron Sowle of Pleasanton, Calif.; a nephew, David C. Rine of Burke, Va.; a niece, Janice Margaret Nehrt of Bloomington, Ill.; a special niece, Judith Jerdee of Tomah; many cousins, friends and business associates.

Joyce worked practically all of her adult life on Superior Avenue in Tomah. Her first job was selling tickets at the (Tomah) movie theater where the Tee Pee Supper Club now stands. After that she worked at Schultz Bros. Variety Store, Jaffee's Clothing Store, Ranney's Dairy, Tomah Cash Mercantile, the Sherman Hotel and had brief employments in Ladies Ready to Wear in Woodstock, Ill., and Beloit. In 1963, she and her husband opened Joyce's Clothes Post and ran it for 35 years. She closed the store in May of 1997, as her health began to deteriorate.

She was a lifelong member of the Tomah United Methodist Church and of the Eastern Star. She and Frosty were charter members of the Hiawatha Golf Club and she was an active member of the Monroe County Crime Stoppers, the Business and Professional Women's Club, and the American Legion Auxiliary. She was a volunteer at the Veterans Administration Center, at the Grand National Dairyland Tractor Pull and at the Warrens Annual Cranfest, where one year she and Frosty were the parade marshals.

After the Clothes Post was closed, Joyce realized here dream to have a Tomah Museum. The building was donated to the Tomah Area Historical Society and the museum was opened in 1998. Joyce and her husband took many overseas trips, which she thoroughly enjoyed, especially to areas where Frosty had served in the Navy in WWII. A special interest of hers was the Shrine Hospital Program and she worked on many projects raising money for the Shrine hospitals.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 11 a.m. at the Tomah First United Methodist Church with Pastor William Swan officiating. Burial followed in Oak Grove Cemetery." She was buried on 3 December 2002 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^11,22 in the Oak Grove Cemetery.

Joyce Elizabeth FENSKE and Forrest H. "Frosty" MADES were married on 22 October 1948.^3,23,24 Forrest H. "Frosty" MADES, son of Henry W. MADES and Sadie M. UNKNOWN (MADES), was born on 11 February 1918 in Polo, Ogle County, IL.²⁴ He died on 17 January 2011 at the age of 92 in Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.²⁴

Obituary Notes: "Forrest H. “Frosty” Mades, age 92, of Tomah, Wis., passed away Monday, Jan. 17, 2011, at the Tomah VA Medical Center. He was born on Feb. 11, 1918, to Henry and Sadie (Sweet) Mades in Polo, Ill. He was a 1936 graduate of Polo Community High School. In 1940, he graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor of science degree in Physical Education and a minor in Industrial Art and History.

In 1942 he joined the US Naval Reserve. He attended basic training at Naval Operating Base at Norfolk, Va., and then was stationed at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Chief Specialist in Physical Fitness. On Dec. 1, 1942, he was commissioned an Ensign and sent to Princeton University for seamanship training. He then went to Norfolk Amphibious Training Base as a Landing Craft Officer. His first assignment was in North Africa, in preparation for the invasions of Sicily and Italy in July and August of 1943. He was then assigned to the invasion forces in the early waves of the June 6, 1944, invasion at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. His next Navy assignment was back to Norfolk to be trained as a Landing Ship Medium Commanding Officer. Upon completion of this training, he was assigned as commanding officer of the US LSM #441, which was commissioned at the naval base in Philadelphia. The ship was deployed to the Pacific via the Panama Canal in preparation for impending invasion of Japan. The atomic bomb was dropped as the 441 got to Guam. The ship was assigned to occupation duties, transporting troops and supplies to Japan. In January of 1946, he was rotated back to the U.S. and to inactive duty. He stayed in the Naval Reserve and completed his naval career as a Lieutenant Commander.

In May of 1946, he was given his master’s degree in Education, and began his career in the Veterans Administration at Danville, Ill. In January of 1947, he was transferred to the VA at Tomah as Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Staff. He married Joyce E. Hunt on Oct. 22, 1948. From 1963 to 1967 he worked at the VA Hospital in Hines, Ill., as his wife Joyce was starting and operating her ladies ready to wear shop, The Clothes Post. He returned to Tomah and retired from the VA on Jan. 1, 1976. He and his wife Joyce celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary in 2002, and she passed away on Nov. 29, 2002.

He was a member of the United Methodist Church his entire life. He was a life member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In 1958, he was one of the founding members of the Hiawatha Golf Course, and served as club president in the 1960s. He served many years on Monroe County’s Human Service Committee and was chairman for five years. Mades was also on the Oak Grove Cemetery Board, the Monroe County Crime Stoppers organization and served on the city’s Public Housing and Community Block Grant Committee. He was a member of the Tomah Rotary where he will be remembered for playing the opening music on the piano. He was a longtime member and Past Master of the Tomah Masons and also belonged to the Madison Scottish Rite, Zor Shrine of Madison and the local Mecca Shrine Club. He also represented his ward as an alderman and belonged to the Reserve Officer’s Association of La Crosse. Frosty and Joyce donated the building and started the foundation for the Tomah Museum. He was a great sports fan and officiated many basketball and football games for various high schools in the area.

He is survived by his stepdaughter, Janice (Ron) Sowle of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; his stepgranddaughter, Lisa Sowle of Sussex, Wis.; stepgrandson, Kurt Sowle of Scottsdale, Ariz.; his nephew, David C. Rine of Olathe, Kan.; his niece, Janice Nehrt of Bloomington, Ill.; great-nephews and nieces; numerous cousins and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry W and Sadie M. Mades, his wife, Joyce, and his sister, Lola M. Rine.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011, 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Tomah. Pastor William Swan will officiate. Burial with full military honors by the Tomah VFW #1382 will follow in the Oak Grove Cemetery, Tomah. Family and friends are invited for visitation Friday, Jan. 21, 2011, from 4 until 7 p.m. with a 7 p.m. Masonic service at the Torkelson Funeral Home in Tomah. Family and friends are also invited for visitation Saturday from 10 a.m. until the time of service at the church.

Memorials may be given to the Tomah Museum or the Oak Grove Cemetery Association. The Torkelson Funeral Home of Tomah is assisting the family with arrangements."

Joyce Elizabeth FENSKE and Paul HUNT were married before 1938.²³ Paul HUNT²⁵ was born (date unknown).

Joyce Elizabeth FENSKE and Paul HUNT had the following children: