Obituary for Mary Joan Gefke

Mary Joan Gefke, age 81, of Oregon, passed away peacefully at her home on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2010, surrounded by her family.

Joan was born on Dec. 22, 1929, in Oregon, the daughter of Raphael Martin and Florence Killerlain Martin. She attended Oregon High School, and graduated in 1947. During high school Joan was the drum majorette for the band, head cheerleader, and participated in forensics where she received state recognition. On June 14, 1947, Joan married her high school sweetheart Stanford Lowel Gefke. They remained in union for 63 wonderful years.

Joan's first job after high school was at Reitan-Lerdahl in Madison. After a short stay, she began work at the United States Armed Forces Institute in Madison. In 1962, Joan then moved onto work at the UW-Madison, Environmental Awareness Center. Joan's time working on the UW campus during the Vietnam Era was one of the most exciting times of her life, and she would often regale anyone who would listen to her of the stories from this time of her life.

In her capacity as a UW project specialist from 1962 until 1974, Joan worked closely on the following projects: Blueprint for Bayfield, A Design Study for Preserving and Enhancing the Scenic Quality of a Great Lakes Community, Bayfield, Wis.; Old World Wisconsin, A Study by the Department of Landscape Architecture; A Historic Structure Inventory for Wisconsin, including the Old World Wisconsin Project, Statewide inventory; Madison E-Way System, 21-Mile Environmental Corridor, National Endowment for the Arts Funding; An Interstate Corridor Selection Process: The Application of Computer Technology to Highway Location Dynamics; and the Inland Lakes Renewal and Management Demonstration.

After spending 28 years working for others, Joan decided to start a new adventure. She enrolled in Madison Business College, where in 1975 she received an associate degree in court reporting. She struck up a friendship with a fellow student, Faye Gehrke, and Gefke and Gehrke Reporters, LLC was formed. During their nine years of working together, the team covered most of the high profile court cases in Dane County, including the Barbara Hoffman case.

After Gefke and Gehrke, Joan did several stints with the U.S. Government. First, in 1984, she joined the U.S. Marshals Office in Madison, as a legal technician. For this job, Joan had to go through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center where she learned hand to hand combat and handgun proficiency - at the age of 55! She stayed with the high profile Marshal's Office until 1987, when she moved to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Madison, where she worked as a paralegal for the Federal Grand Jury system. This was an extremely dramatic time for Joan, as she worked on many thrilling John Doe cases.

In 1992, after giving the U.S. Government almost 10 years of service, Joan began her teaching career in court reporting and various continuing education classes. She taught at Madison College from 1992 until 1995, Edgewood College from 1995 until 1997, and UW-Whitewater from 1997 until 1999. She loved teaching, and was truly a compassionate mentor to many young minds.

Finally at the age of 70, Joan decided to fully dedicate her time to the service of her community. In 2001, Joan started the Historical Preservation Commission for the village of Oregon. Since the inception of the Commission, Joan had worked untiringly on various local activities: she was instrumental in founding the Oregon Historical Society; she was chairperson for a book on the history of the Holy Mother of Consolation Church; she conducted a survey of all plots in St. Mary's Cemetery in Oregon; she worked on preserving the historic buildings in Downtown Oregon, including the Old Red Brick School; and worked on developing the use of court reporters in the closed captioning TV industry. She was always available to write grants for whoever requested her expertise, and always refused compensation.

Joan held the following professional certifications: Paralegal, U.S. DOJ, Univ. Maryland; Court Reporting Instructor, NCRA; State of Wisconsin, Shorthand Rpt. Her Professional activities included: National Court Reporters Association, RPR, CRI; Wisconsin Court Reporters Association, CSR, CRI; Historic Preservation Commission, Village of Oregon. Her community activities included: Oregon Area Historical Society; State Historical Society of Wisconsin; Oregon Chamber of Commerce; HMC Catholic Church, Oregon; Red Brick Restoration Committee; and the Real-time/TV Captioning Program, UW-WHA.

She is survived by her husband, Stan; her son, John (Katherine) Gefke and their daughters, Frances and Samantha of Brooklyn; her daughter, Cynthia (Al) Petko and their children, Bryan, Katie, and Andy of Buffalo, N.Y.; sister, Jeanne (Tom) Caine and their children, Kathye Dunn and Patrick Caine, and Kaythe Dunn's two children, Amy and Steve; aunts, Pat Minch and Virginia Martin; cousin, Michael (Darlene) Barry of Oregon and their extended family; her special friends, Fred and Linda Kriesel, Kate Hardy, Joan Wethal, and Florence Franke.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents; and an infant son, Raphael.

The family of Joan Gefke wishes to extend our sincere thanks to her care providers: Dr. Sorber; Dr. Frontiera; and all of the staff at St. Mary's Hospital. Special thanks and consideration is extended to the fantastically supportive HospiceCare in Madison.

Joan led an extremely busy life developing a well respected professional career. She was tireless in her time to her church and community. But she will mostly be remembered as a woman who always had time for her family first!

Gunderson Oregon Funeral and Cremation Care 1150 Park St. (608) 835-3515