Joan Mary (Wettstein) Simon

Joan Mary (Wettstein) Simon, 81, of the rural Malone area, passed away Saturday, February 29, 2020 at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac with her family at her side.



Joan was born in Fond du Lac on Monday, December 12, 1938 the oldest of four daughters to Henry and Emma (Schmitz) Wettstein of Dotyville. She was raised on a dairy farm near Dotyville until her marriage. For her first two years of school Joan went to the Town of Forest public grade school. When that closed her Uncle and Aunt, Ambrose and Elizabeth Wettstein of Eden, tore down the school, and using the school’s lumber, built a house for Ambrose’s family in the Village of Eden. It was there that her Aunt and Uncle raised their family of four girls. Joan belonged to St. Michael’s Parish in Dotyville and was a student at the church’s grade school. She received her First Holy Communion on May 4, 1947 and was confirmed on October 25, 1951, both at St. Michael's Church. Joan graduated from St. Mary’s Springs Academy in 1956.



On Saturday, October 3, 1959 Joan married Elmer A. Simon of St. Peter at St. Michael’s Church. They met thru Joan's cousin, Tony Schmitz of St. Peter, at Ozie's minor bar on the main drag in Mt. Calvary. The Simons lived in Dotyville for the first few years of their marriage. In 1964 they purchased the Simon homestead in St. Peter from Elmer’s mother, Florence Simon, and began dairy farming. While helping on the farm, Joan raised their three girls and one boy. When her children became older, she began working part-time at Federal Crop Insurance in Fond du Lac.



Joan worked for the USDA-Farm Service Agency in Fond du Lac for 31½ years. Upon retiring on April 1, 2010, she began to volunteer at the Salvation Army Food Pantry. Joan was a member of the “We Love to Dance Club” and became the clubs secretary for several years. In addition, Joan was on the Plan Commission Board for the Town of Taycheedah for many years, was a member of the American Legion Abler-Engel Post 454 Auxiliary in Mt. Calvary and belonged to “Among Friends” at the Fond du Lac Senior Center. She also played cards with various groups in Dotyville, St. Cloud, and Pipe. Joan helped care for some of her grandchildren and great- grandchildren whom she enjoyed very much.



Survivors include her husband of sixty years, Elmer; three daughters, Janice M. Simon (husband, Rick Rupp) of Berthoud, Colo., Carol A. Simon of Dotyville and Ann M. Simon of rural Fond du Lac; her son, Stephen E. Simon of rural Malone; four grandchildren, Nicole D. Drew of both Milwaukee and Jamaica, Calvin M. (Teha) Drew of Manitowoc, Timothy E. Simon (Kayla Immel) of Mt. Calvary, and Ella M. Rupp of Berthoud, Colo.; seven great-grandchildren, Preston and Colton Drew of Fond du Lac, Brei and Hollster of Manitowoc, Aubrey Bender, Emma and Benjamin Simon all of rural Mt. Calvary; three sisters, Barbara E. (Ron) Haessley of Dotyville, Mary C. Krug (Rick Keller) of Dotyville and Ann M. Reilly of Fountain Hills, Ariz.; three nephews, Michael Haessley of Milwaukee, Mark (Toni) Haessley of Germantown and Kevin (Trish) Krug of Fond du Lac; two nieces, Tricia Reilly (Matthew) Johnson of Florida and Lisa Reilly Payton (Rod E.) of Arizona; a former son-in-law, Steven Drew of Fond du Lac; other relatives and many friends.



She was preceded in death by her grandparents, parents and a brother-in-law, Patrick J. Reilly.



Visitation will be held from 1:00pm - 4:00pm, Thursday, March 5, 2020 at Uecker-Witt Funeral

Home, 524 N. Park Ave. in Fond du Lac. A prayer service will follow, beginning at 4:00pm. Private burial services in St. Charles Cemetery will take place the following day.



Additional information and guestbook can be found by visiting ueckerwitt.com