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An independent woman who raised her daughter by herself after her husband was killed during World War II, Joanna J. Schmidt Churchill never saw a need to remarry.
Starting a career with the Wisconsin Telephone Company, Churchill joined what is now called the Pioneers, a service organization whose members work in the telecommunications field.
Going on various excursions with the group to do service projects, Churchill nurtured a passion for travel, eventually visiting the Pacific Rim, Europe and South America.
She especially loved New Zealand, staying at a bed and breakfast on a farm for months at a time.
“She said if she could, she would go and live there,” her daughter Jane Churchill said. “It was her favorite place.”
Churchill died Jan. 29 at 91.
The oldest of three children, Churchill was raised on San Antonio’s South Side, graduating from Brackenridge High School in 1943.
Though she wanted to go to college to become a journalist, money was scarce and Churchill instead began working.
“She worked at Frost Bank during the war,” her daughter said. “The men were overseas, so she became a runner, carrying money, checks and documents all over San Antonio.”
She met her future husband, who was in town for training with the Army Air Forces, at a dance. The couple married in 1944.
Pregnant with their daughter by the time her husband was sent overseas, Churchill moved to Wisconsin to live with her in-laws, keeping the books for their commercial dairy farm.
Deciding to stay after receiving news of her husband’s death, Churchill raised her daughter on the farm and later in town.
“I was a latchkey child,” Jane Churchill said. “After school I had to call my mother and let her know I was home, and later on I fixed the supper.”
Hired by Wisconsin Telephone Company in the early 1960s, Churchill later transferred to San Antonio to work with Southwestern Bell Telephone.
She made another move to the San Francisco Bay area to work for Pacific Bell, and later AT&T, at the time of her retirement in 1988.
Although she dated through the years, Churchill was content to be alone.
“She didn’t want to be dependent on anybody,” her daughter said.
mheidbrink@express-news.net
Joanna J. Schmidt Churchill
Born: Nov. 3, 1925, Fort Worth
Died: Jan. 29, 2017, Cedar Park
Preceded by: Parents Milton H. and Lillian Karp Schmidt.
Survived by: Daughter Jane Ann Churchill and son-law Brian Graham; two brothers.
Services: Visitation at 10 a.m., memorial service at 11 a.m., both Friday at Hope Lutheran Church in Ladysmith, Wisconsin.
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