JoAnn Brusnahan

JoAnn Brusnahan, age 87, of Rensselaer, Indiana passed away peacefully, Monday, January 27, 2020 at Franciscan Health Alternacare of Rensselaer. Born on April 16, 1932 in Rensselaer, Indiana, she was the daughter of Ralph W. and Opal M. (Potts) Myers. JoAnn was educated at the Fair Oaks School, graduating with the Class of 1950. On January 13, 1951 at St. Augustine Church, she married the love of her life, Charles G. Brusnahan. Charles passed away in July of 2002. JoAnn was employed as a bank teller for 26 years. She worked for Farmers and Merchants Bank, Northwest Bank and Lafayette Bank and Trust before retiring from Kentland Bank in 1998. JoAnn was an active member of St. Augustine Catholic Church. She enjoyed helping with parish dinners and the annual Church Bazaar. She also enjoyed traveling, knitting, and exploring Turkey Run State Park. JoAnn’s love of adventure took her on many travels. She bought into “see the USA in your Chevrolet”, although for her it was always a Ford or a Mercury. She made sure her children saw all of the western states...immortalized in a photo of her pointing out that we children needed to get out of the car because she did not drive all the way to the Petrified Forest for us kids to sit in the car! She added Belgium and France to visit her granddaughter Sarah on her study abroad. Followed by a trip to Japan to visit with her granddaughter Brooke. For a child of World War II, she was in awe of the fact that having lived through Pearl Harbor she spent time as an adult tracking down a Starbucks in downtown Tokyo. JoAnn is survived by her three children, Barbara Kay (Greg) Howell of West Lafayette, Ind., Mari Anne (Bruce) Sayler of Rensselaer, Ind. and Timothy P. (Lynn) Brusnahan of Shorewood, Wisconsin and her brother Ralph (Doris) Myers. Also surviving are grandchildren, Brooke (Carlton), Stacy (Brian), Sarah (Jake), Maggie (Nick), Timothy Colin, Charles Devon, Kathryn and Brookelynn and seven great-grandchildren, Claire, Luke, Owen, Sam, Emma, Will, and Matthew and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Charles and a grandson, Brad. Friends are invited to visit with the family at Jackson Funeral Chapel in Rensselaer on Thursday, January 30, 2020 from 4:00 - 7:00 PM, (Central time). A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 AM on Friday, January 31, 2020, at the St. Augustine Catholic Church in Rensselaer with Rev. Donald Davison officiating. Burial will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. Augustine Catholic School,

JoAnn Brusnahan

April 16, 1932 - January 27, 2020