Obituary of Joanne Marie Raschke

Joanne M. Raschke, born October 12, 1929 in Milwaukee as Joanne Hipelius, died June 26, 2021 in Winston-Salem. Joanne spent her early years in Chicago, where she graduated from Rosary College and met the love of her life, Kenneth O. Raschke. During their 60 years together, Joanne and Ken provided a vivid model to their four daughters and sons-in-law for how to have a loving, supportive, joyful marriage. Joanne absolutely adored Ken, and she was heartbroken when he died in 2012. But she took comfort in seeing how close her daughters were to each other, and she and her daughters continued to make many happy memories together. Joanne was an excellent seamstress, and when the girls were small, she often made them matching outfits (except for Karen, who had to be different). She had a wry, teasing sense of humor and enjoyed being a bit different – such as driving her flashy Camaro instead of a more sedate family car. She fully recognized and appreciated how fortunate she and Ken were in the life they were able to lead together. They greatly enjoyed traveling together, whether on a cruise to Hawaii, a theatre trip to London, or a road trip in their bright yellow Corvette convertible. Joanne is survived by her daughters, Gwenne Causey (Steve) of Greensboro, Karen Raschke (Don Creach) of Richmond, Janet Page (Jim) of Winston-Salem, and Susie Himes (Charles) of Broomfield, Colorado; twelve grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. A reception in her memory will be held in September. The family will forever be grateful to the warm, compassionate, attentive caregivers at Arbor Acres, especially on the second floor of Asbury Place. The family requests that donations, in lieu of flowers, in Joanne’s honor be made to the Arbor Acres programs for employee scholarships and employee financial assistance. (www.arboracres.org/charitable-giving/)