MONONA - Tana Godfriaux came dancing into the world during the Jazz Age. She was born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Russell and Esther, and passed away recently at Meriter Hospital, after a long and dynamic life.

Tana was a force of nature, an indomitable soul. Her spirit never seemed to age, no matter her number of years.

Always looking to start something new, Tana was only 12 years old when she and her school chums formed a social group called the ‘Green Hornets,’ an alliance that lasted their entire lifetimes! In high school, Tana was homecoming queen.

She first discovered her love for jazz as a young girl, hearing her father’s Louis Armstrong 78 record on the Victrola and Billie Holiday on the radio.

Ever after, Tana was a passionate jazz enthusiast, active on the board of the Madison Jazz Society for nearly four decades. She was also a musician in her own right, playing four reed instruments - clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and accordion. She was fortunate to see Billie Holiday perform twice in concert in Chicago in the 1950s.

A shared love for jazz introduced Tana to her husband, jazz pianist and trombonist, Jim Godfriaux (who was also a data processor for the UW), with whom she started a family.

Long after Jim’s early passing, music and the stars conspired to bring Tana to meet her devoted partner of two and a half decades, Chicago jazz bassist, Dan Shapera.

Tana was a dance student at the UW-Madison before the college offered a dance degree, so she earned her degree in physical education. Her dance study included African dance, modern dance, Latin, jazz and swing dance, liturgical dance, and even the hustle during the disco craze. As a dancing friend said, “Tana was not a sitter.”

She helped pioneer natural childbirth instruction in Madison, teaching relaxation and breathing techniques, long before this was well-known across the nation. Tana created the graceful logo for the Association of Childbirth Education in Madison, depicting a mother and father cradling a child. She also minored in health, studied applied math and mechanics, and worked as a draftsperson at Tri-Clover Machine Company in the engineering department, as did her brother, Wayne.

Tana taught math and science for more than 27 years at Monona Grove High School, capturing the imagination of young math students when she showed them “the mathematically correct way to tie their shoes.”

Tana was also a member of Plato Club, an avid rower for a UW rowing team, a creator of New Orleans parasols for Second Line Dancing, and even a ‘Cripple Creek Clogger.’

A photograph of Tana was featured in Compton’s Encyclopedia in the 1950s, as she performed on a UW stage in a modern dance production. She also choreographed plays for Monona Grove High School, including ‘1776,’ ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’, and ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.’ The staff at Monona Grove voted Tana ‘Best Dancer,’ of course!

Tana loved camping and long-distance bicycling and embarked on many journeys traveling with family or friends. She skied the mountains of Colorado, rode the California Zephyr, swam in the Gulf of Mexico, lindy-hopped at St. Louis Jazz Festivals, danced in the Storyville Club in New Orleans and at La Ronde in Montreal, and canoed the bayous of Louisiana, “shining gators”.

Tana encouraged each of her children to develop their individual strengths, strongly supporting and inspiring their diverse endeavors.

In addition to being the mother of four and grandmother of five, a wife and partner, a devoted sister, Tana was mostly someone who many could call “friend,” and a whole lot of folks outside the family even called her “Mom.”

Tana is survived by two sons, Steve Godfriaux and Stan (Colleen) Godfriaux; two daughters, Lynnea (Brad) Pregeant and Janine (Jim) Leystra; four grandchildren, Justin Godfriaux, Alyssa (Joshua), Isaac, and Colton Godfriaux; loving partner, Dan Shapera; two bonus families, the Joe (Liz) Shapera family and the Ann-Elizabeth (& Tiffany) Shapera family; brother Wayne (Nancy); and many other nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by husband, Jim Godfriaux, her parents; and her granddaughter, Kia Godfriaux.

A celebration of life will be held at THE EAST SIDE CLUB, 3735 Monona Drive, Madison, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 25, 2022.

Donations in honor of Tana’s memory may be made to Madison Jazz Society at https://www.mjs@madison.com, or <https://www.madisonjazz.com/school-grants or sent to 5720 Steeplechase Dr., Waunakee, WI 53597-8604.

One of Tana’s last wishes for the world after she would dance across the rainbow bridge was that “jazz will live on.”

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420

Tana M Godfriaux

November 16, 1926 - January 02, 2022

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