Joan Marie Kapitzke

Joan Marie Kapitzke of Santee, California passed away to be with the Lord at the age of 86 on July 28, 2022.

Joan was born in Appleton, Wisconsin on March 12, 1936. She graduated with the Class of 1955 from Appleton High School, and in 1958 she graduated from the Milwaukee Hospital School of Nursing. Joan started her nursing career in Wisconsin, then in the Chicago area, and ultimately relocated to San Diego in 1976. For more than 20 years she served as a nurse and later as a Unit Supervisor at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. As an OBGYN nurse Joan cared for many young families of newborns and she was proud of her annual responsibility of selecting a family to be sponsored by MADD.

Family was extremely important to Joan. She married John H. Kapitzke on January 31, 1959, and they raised five children together. Joan enjoyed her family time, traveling, gardening, floral arranging, and watching baseball & football games on TV.

Joan is survived by her children: Beverly Navarro (Fernando), Peter Kapitzke (Denise), Connie Kapitzke-Mistretta (Michael), Sallie Stahler (Kern), and John Paul Kapitzke (Ada); and by her seven grandchildren: Elizabeth (Libby), Kristen, Stephanie, Scott, Zachary, Kaitlin, and Emilie.