Janice Eileen Michaelis (Hanson)

Michaelis, Janice Eileen (Hanson) OREGON / MADISON Janice Eileen (Hanson) Michaelis, our dear wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend, passed away early Thursday morning, March 13, 2008, following a brief illness. Born on Feb. 13, 1939, Jan was 69 years old. Jan struggled for many years with heart-related problems, surviving a heart attack, heart bypass surgery and finally a heart transplant in 2000 that gave all of us another precious eight years with her. We remain forever indebt to the generous family of the teenage girl who gave the gift of life to Jan, the center of our world. She and her husband, Don were part of a large, loving group of friends who supported each other through joy and loss. Jan Hanson grew up with her five older brothers on Madisons East Side, graduating from East High School in 1957. She married Don, her Edgewood High School sweetheart, the next year on April 19, 1958. Over the next five years, they added four children to their family: Debbie, Dee, Mike and Dawn. Don and Jan moved from Madison to Beloit to Waterloo, Iowa, and back to Madison, where Jan worked as an aide at Lowell Elementary School, and Don continued his career with the Sherwin-Williams Co. In 1976, the family moved to Crown Point, Ind., where Jan worked as an aide for struggling students at Crown Point High School. After all four children graduated from high school, Jan and Don moved as Don was promoted by "Uncle Sherwin" to jobs in South Bend, Ind., and Woodstock, Ill., before landing back in the Madison area in Oregon. Dons early retirement in 1999 allowed them to take advantage of Jans second lease on life by traveling with close friends and family to Alaska, Hawaii, the Northeast, Florida, the Canadian Rockies and elsewhere. Jan loved to play bridge, golf, do crossword puzzles, read and make quilts. She and Don were dependable fans at Badgers basketball games and the athletic events and concerts of their nine grandchildren. Jan was stoic, never complaining about her health. She also had an uncanny way of assessing problems and their solutions, confronting all matters head-on. Jan was preceded in death by her baby sister, Gloria; parents, Edna and Helmer Hanson; brothers, Les and Rollie Hanson; sister-in-law, Burnette Hanson; and Dons parents, Ernie and Marie Michaelis. She is survived by her loving husband of nearly 50 years, Don of Oregon; daughter, Debbie Nagel and her children, Alexis, Jessica and Andrew of Oregon; daughter, Dee Hall, her husband, Andy, and their children, Molly and Monica of Fitchburg; son Mike, his wife, Susan and their children, Duncan and Finn of Lake Bluff, Ill.; and daughter, Dawn Wielgus, her husband Ed, and their children, Brian and Eileen of Oregon. Also surviving are Jans brother and sister-in-law, Don and Lorraine Hanson of Madison; brother and sister-in-law, Gene and Jo Hanson of Monona; brother and sister-in-law, Gordy and Pat Hanson of Madison; and sister-in-law, June Hanson of Monona. Jan is further survived by Dons brother and his wife, Bob and Bonnie Michaelis of Baraboo; Dons brother and sister-in-law, Dick and Janet Michaelis of Brooklyn; Dons sister and brother-in-law, Louise and Allen Anderson of Middleton, and many nieces and nephews. Our deepest thanks go out to the wonderful staff of HospiceCare, who helped Jans immediate family give her a loving send off. Donations can be sent to HospiceCare Inc., 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711; or the American Heart Association, 2850 Dairy Drive, Suite 300, Madison, WI, 53718. Visitation will be Monday, 10 a.m. until noon, with a memorial service immediately following at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL HOME, 5203 Monona Drive. Internment will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the chapel at Roselawn Memorial Park in Monona. Jan would not want us to weep and pull down the shades. She would want us to thrust our chins bravely into the sun, confronting our new world without her but with the gifts of love and optimism shes given us all.