JoeAnne Martischang

JoeAnne (Wakefield) Martischang (10/20/1924, Denton, Texas) passed away on December 21, 2013 at St. Anthony's Central Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado. She grew up in the small town of Ponder, Texas (where her grandfather owned the bank robbed by the notorious ""Bonnie and Clyde"") and graduated from Ponder High School. She attended Texas State College for Women, in Denton, majoring in Speech and Drama. She played tennis while there and enjoyed being in plays. It was in college that she developed her love for the game of bridge. She worked for a time in Dallas for American Airlines, and came to Colorado to work at a summer guest ranch, where she met her future husband, a WWII Army-Air Force sergeant, Andrew L. Martischang (Andy). They made their home near El Rancho, and lived there until Andy's death in 1985. JoeAnne enjoyed working with volunteer women's groups at their church, Christ the King, in Evergreen, playing bridge with local women's clubs, and actively participating in parent groups, like PTA, in Evergreen where her two daughters attended school. She moved to Lakewood, and became an avid walker around the lake near Crown Hill. She missed having a pet, since the family Airedale, Molly, had died several years earlier. Before moving to the Westland Meridian, she adopted her beloved rescue cat, and constant apartment companion, George. JoeAnne enjoyed ballroom dancing with Andy, and reading. She never backed down from an opportunity to express her thoughts regarding matters that were important to her. She was eager to make her opinions known, and always eager to support the causes of her two daughters, and later of her two grandchildren. She is survived by her daughter Deborah (Daniel) Caldwell of Ledyard, CT, and their two children, Andrew and Kate, by Therese (Tracy) Kovach , and her husband, Randy Parcel of Westminster, CO, and by her sister, Dorothy Seely of Lubbock, TX, and by nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to ""Care for Strays"" at the Care Animal Hospital, 8044 Kipling Street, Arvada, CO 80005. Horan & McConaty Funeral Services is in charge of arrangements. A service will be held Thursday, December 26, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel at their site, 3101 South Wadsworth in Lakewood. Burial at Fort Logan Cemetery will be private. Please share memories of JoeAnne and condolences with her family by signing the online guestbook below.