Jean Marie Skemp

Jean Marie Skemp passed away peacefully at home on September 3, 2026, surrounded by family. She was born on September 27, 1940, to Thomas and Eleanor Shelton of Mauston, WI, the oldest of seven children.

Jean often reminisced about her childhood and the Mauston area: helping to raise her younger siblings there, the beauty of the farm, her parent’s dedication, her neighbors (many of whom were her relatives), haying season, riding bikes, getting sodas and reading movie magazines with her cousins and friends. She attended St. Pat’s Grade School and then Madona High School, where she was salutatorian and earned a scholarship to attend college.

In 1958, Jean enrolled in Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee, WI where she studied art, the humanities, and primary education. Soon after college, she taught elementary school for two years in the Inner Core neighborhood of Milwaukee and this experience awakened within her a strong sense of social justice. While in Milwaukee she also met her husband, Sam, through a Catholic social group. Sam called her “Slim”, and it stuck and their resulting 62 years of marriage would continue to sustain a strong sense of humor at its core.

Jean loved her children and grandchildren fiercely and showed it through action--teaching them to read, embody empathy, work hard at their gifts, identify birds by sight and song and tend to their relationships like flowers. Later in life, without doubt, her favorite thing to do was to spend time with any one of her eight grandchildren.

In her early years, Jean developed her talents for painting, drawing, and music (playing, singing, dancing) and continued to enjoy these activities throughout her life. As a result, she greatly appreciated creativity and supported this in her children and grandchildren--the walls of her home decorated with brand new and decades old drawings and paintings. “I just love art!” she would often say when she was gifted a new handmade treasure.

She had a deep reverence for family history and loved people, their different life stories and a good chat wherever she might see a familiar face. She was also an avid photographer, religiously documenting family gatherings and events. She was generous, open and very much her own person, one who appreciated human connection and a slower more intentional pace of life. She was a true night owl, often staying up until late hours reading. And until the very end she was deeply grateful for the life she had lived and was gracious and brave.

We will miss her laughter, the light of her presence, and how she was the glue of our family. We will miss the way she was always busy in the next room reading, organizing, chatting on the phone or ironing and listening to a book on tape (yes, most likely a cassette tape). How you could call her for a late night catch up, a bit of philosophizing and a good laugh.

She is survived by her husband Sam Sr., her children Sheila, Jeffrey, Andrew (Ana) and Matthew and her eight grandchildren: Zoë, Ava, Audrey, Owen, Jonah, Luca, Tallulah and Silas.

She is proceeded in death by her parents Tom and Eleanor, her brothers William and Robert, and her daughter Julie and son Sam Jr.

Jean’s Celebration of Life memorial service will be held at Capella Events, 721 King Street La Crosse, WI, on Saturday, November 7, from 11 am to 3 pm. The family would also like to thank BrightStar and St. Croix Hospice in La Crosse for helping provide comfort and kind, loving care for our dear mother.  Blaschke and Schneider Funeral Home is assisting the family.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to La Crosse Foundation’s Black Empowerment Fund, Driftless Recovery Services, The Franciscan Spirituality Center or the non-profit of your choice.