STOUGHTON - Joan Arlette (Haarklau) Kojo, age 88, passed away on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. A memorial service will be held at Gunderson STOUGHTON Funeral and Cremation Care, 1358 U.S. Highway 51, Stoughton, at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 13, 2022. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on that Friday. Joan’s favorite color was orange, so in her honor, please feel free to wear that color. Masks are optional.

Joan will be laid to rest at Highland Memory Gardens, followed by a luncheon at Gunderson Funeral and Cremation Care in Stoughton. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Stoughton Senior Center or Brighton Hospice.Special thanks to the staff at Milestone Senior Living-Assisted Living and Memory Care in Stoughton, as well as Nazareth Health and Rehabilitation Center, also in Stoughton, and Brighton Hospice for the loving care given to Joan in her final year.

Here is Joan’s obituary, in her own words:
I was born July 20, 1933, to John and Anna (Lunde) Haarklau, of rural North Leeds, Highway 60, Columbia County (then also known as the Poynette, Wis. area). I started school at a country school known as Leeds Center. Through the years, my family drifted South. I graduated from Oregon High School, Oregon, Wis.

I then moved to Madison, Wis., and worked several years at the Red Dot Potato Chip Company on East Washington Avenue. In 1961, I married Waino E. Kojo of Floodwood, Minn. In 1963, our daughter, Susan Renee, was born. After her birth, I worked at different part-time jobs. In 1973, my husband, daughter and I moved to Utica, Wis., where we purchased a five-acre farmette, and raised tobacco for 26 years (which I loved)!

In May of 1997, my husband of 35 years passed away. So, since 1999, I have made Stoughton, Wis., my home. I also took another part-time job at Exclusively Roses. After seven years there, I completely retired. I was able to enjoy many years of travel, dancing and Bingo, plus the Chicago Cubs and Green Bay Packers, of course.

I am survived by my daughter, Sue Kojo, and her husband, Mike Wendt. I was preceded in death by six brothers, Oscar, Howard, Jerome, Arthur, Oliver and Roger, and three sisters, Ruby Annen, Irene Jorgenson and Alma Vale. There are also nieces and nephews who are too numerous to mention.

I will peacefully join my husband into eternal rest at Highland Memory Gardens, Cottage Grove Road, Madison, Wis.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com <http://www.gundersonfh.com>.

Gunderson Stoughton

Funeral & Cremation Care

1358 Highway 51 N. at Jackson St.

(608) 873-4590

Joan A Kojo

July 20, 1933 - April 27, 2022

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