Joel "Joe" Nowakowski

MADISON - Joel P. "Joe" Nowakowski, 79, passed away peacefully on August 22, 2025, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Milwaukee, Joe spent most of his life in Monona, where he raised his family before settling in Janesville for his final years.

Joe was a proud veteran having served in the U.S. Navy as a communications technician and was stationed in Rota, Spain, during the Vietnam War. He had top-secret clearance and intercepted and deciphered messages in order to find Russian submarines.

Joe began his working life making street signs for the City of Madison Streets Department - he even made a few for his daughters. Afterwards, he spent many years at AB Dick working on and maintaining printing presses in the Madison area where he made life-long friends. He finally retired from the City of Janesville as a city bus driver. Never one to sit still, he decided to open a food truck called What A Weenie. As the Weenie in Charge, he served grub at local events and lunches at Kutter Harley Davidson and Boucher in Janesville, to name a few.

Joe was a master handyman and a builder extraordinaire, adding on four additions to his home in Monona and renovating his home in Janesville. He was always fixing or improving something and sometimes narrowly escaping DIY mishaps like nearly cutting off his finger, falling off a roof, and falling from a ladder onto a circular saw.  

Joe was a true animal lover (something he passed onto his daughters) and volunteered at the Rock County Humane Society where he met the love of his life, Karen. He also fostered dogs for Underdog Pet Rescue in Madison and only foster-failed twice.  His dogs were his life - we often joked that he loved his dogs more than his family. He was so proud of the fact that he fed them a raw diet to keep them healthy. If you stopped to ask him about it, he would talk your ear off about the many benefits of feeding your pets a raw diet. This is his true legacy - he wanted as many people as possible to quit feeding their dogs and cats kibble and switch to raw.

An avid Harley rider, Joe loved to ride his motorcycles and accumulate Harley stuff. He would always seek out the Harley dealership, wherever he traveled, to make sure to get a new Harley shirt or Zippo. His collection is quite impressive.

Always a jokester, Joe was the inventor of the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dinosaur" which kept his kids entertained in church while getting a side-eye from their mother. Sarcasm and humor were his love languages. If asked a serious question, chances are that he answered with a joke or sarcastic comment.

A devoted father, he is survived by his daughters, Jennifer Reithmeyer (James Bonoanno) and Jodie Nowakowski (Jeff London), their mother, Donna Nowakowski; grandchildren, Jacob and Emma Reithmeyer; his sister, Carolyn Laub; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Bronislaus and Eleanore Nowakowski; and his sister, Janet Benefiel.

Join us to share stories, memories, and raise a toast to Joe’s life at a Celebration of Life on Sunday, September 21, 2025, from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. at VFW POST 7591, 301 Cottage Grove Road, Madison.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joe’s name to Underdog Pet Rescue of Wisconsin, the Rock County Humane Society, or an animal charity of your choosing.

Jenny and Jodie would like to thank Agrace HospiceCare for providing compassionate care that allowed him to pass at his daughter's house. They would also like to thank the Meusling family for their devoted friendship and love throughout his years in Janesville; they were like a second family to him.

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

Gunderson East
Funeral & Cremation Care
5203 Monona Drive
(608) 221-5420