Patricia Henke (nee Gneiser) age 95 passed away October 17, 2022 at St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus, Milwaukee, WI, where she had resided for the past six months. Prior to that, she lived nine months at Hart Park Square in Wauwatosa, WI and eleven years at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake in Franklin, WI. Patt was born in Fond du Lac, WI in 1927. She lived the first 20 years of her life there, graduating from Goodrich High School in 1945 and attended Marian College for two years. She moved to Milwaukee and graduated from Milwaukee State Teachers College (UWM) with an art major. It was here she met her future husband Frank Henke.
Patt taught high school art in Menomonee, MI. It was the period of the Korean War, so Frank enlisted in the Marines. They were married on Sept 10, 1951 at St. Joseph Church in Fond du Lac over Frank’s four day leave. They left immediately for North Carolina. When the war ended they returned to Milwaukee, WI. With a growing family they moved to Wauwatosa, WI where they raised their four children. Patt stayed home to take care of the kids while Frank worked as a principal for Milwaukee Public Schools. Patt had her music and became more active in her art projects, painting wall murals and portraits. She called herself a “super shopper” and enjoyed Las Vegas vacations with her husband. However, nothing gave her the satisfaction and fulfillment as her role as a mother of four, grandmother of fifteen and great-grandmother of nine.
Patt was preceded in death by her husband Frank, parents Rudolph and Loretta Gneiser, brothers David and Gerald Gneiser, and sister Yvonne. Survivors are her four children and their families: Pamela (Richard) Beattie of Brookfield, WI - grand-children Tegan (Eric) Achiron, Todd Beattie, Tyler Beattie and Travis Beattie. Mark (Cheryl) Henke of Jackson, WI - grand-children Ryan (Dawn) Henke, Daniel (Erin) Henke, Adam Henke, Shayna (Victor) Hernandez, and Kyle (Nicole) Henke Scott (Rose) Henke of Plano, TX- grandchildren David Henke and Luke Henke Kurt (Cynthia) Henke of Brookfield, CT - grandchildren Erik Henke, Claire Henke, David Henke and Karl Henke She is also survived by nine great-grandchildren: Evan Achiron, Josh Achiron, Joseph Henke, Raegan Henke, Aiyana Jarrett, Victor Angelo Hernandez, Valentino Hernandez, Cecilia Henke and Amelia Henke.
Patt was a devoted Catholic who deeply loved her family and friends. She will be remembered for her ever present sense of humor, warmth, gift of gab, love of ice cream sundaes, fashionable wardrobe and accessories. Until the onset of dementia she felt truly blessed to have lived into her 90’s and see so many descendants that she would watch grow up and be proud of. Her one regret was that Frank, her husband who had died of heart problems at 72, wasn’t there to share her happiness and love.
Friends and family will gather on Tuesday Oct. 25, 2022 at Wisconsin Memorial Park, Great Memorial Chapel of the Chimes, 13235 W. Capital Drive, Brookfield, WI for visitation at 10:00 am with Catholic Funeral Service to follow at 11:00 am.
The family would like to thank the staffs at St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus Providence Court and Hart Park Square for the loving care they provided Patt. The family would also like to thank the St. Croix Hospice Care team who embraced Patt and managed her care in the last six months of her life.
In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to It’s A Sensory World (Sensory Processing & Special Needs Education, Gym, Therapy in Dallas, Texas) https://www.itsasensoryworld.org/
Grandma Patt was always a great encouragement to her grandson David Frank as he was growing up. She would be extremely pleased with this choice of charity in her honor. David's school is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create a path to inclusion for special needs children and young adults
