Ann L. Dobesh

Ann Laura Dobesh (McKenna) passed away on Wednesday, September 25th at the age of 83 after living an absolutely wonderful life. Her final day was spent with her three children and some of her closest friends in attendance at her bedside.

Ann was born March 16,1941 in Green Bay, WI to loving parents Charles and Ruth McKenna and older brother Charles A. McKenna. She married her High School sweetheart, David E. Dobesh in 1972 and lived a full and loving life as a wife, mother, and friend to many.

Ann often recounted stories of joyful childhood times growing up on Grignon Street in the city of Green Bay. As a young woman, Ann graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy in 1959 before heading off to Marquette University where she received her Bachelor of Science in 1963. During her years at Marquette University, Ann became the captain of the cheerleading team as her Marquette Warriors basketball team regularly competed for national recognition.

After college, Ann moved to Los Angeles where she and friends worked and shared many adventures. Always open to new experiences, Ann recruited friends to travel to Europe (where her future husband David E. Dobesh was stationed in the military) and they all embarked on explorations across the European Continent in a white Volkswagen Beetle. Subsequently, she returned to Wisconsin where she earned her MS in Education and taught in Milwaukee Public Schools for several years. She often reflected on the memorable time she spent teaching the children in her classrooms.

In the decades that followed those formative years, Ann and David settled in Cedarburg, WI where they built their life and family together. Ann also returned to working as a medical technologist in the lab at Milwaukee Medical Clinic, where she spent many years with great colleagues.

Although Ann’s life had many marvelous chapters, her greatest joy was her family. Ann and David E. Dobesh created a loving family and are survived by their children Megan (Jason) Schroeder, Thomas (Virginia) and David (Grace Kim). She was a loving grandmother to her seven grandchildren Odin, Greyson, Charlie, Tate, McKenna, Wesley and the late Charlotte.

Ann provided her children with constant and unquestioned support and love. Those who knew Ann, knew nothing brought her greater joy than spending time with her grandchildren, talking about her grandchildren, or sharing their photos.

Despite the loss of her husband David in 2015, she continued to enjoy a vibrant life. She loved Green Bay Packer games, the Cedarburg Gardening Club, her amazing collection of both lifelong and more recently acquired friends, her doting dog Dublin, and her Irish Heritage. Most recently, Ann had the opportunity to travel to Ireland with a group of friends on a trip that gave her immense joy.

To be sure, Ann was always a woman determined not to be constrained by social constructs. She lived a full life that reached from Wisconsin, to California, to Europe, and back to Wisconsin. She was a formidable woman with many passions.

Traveling to Ireland to connect with her past, contributing to her garden club to embrace the present, and traveling the country to see her grandchildren who will be her future, all define how Ann appreciated and enjoyed life. She lived life on her own terms and took joy in everyday activities from morning coffee on the porch, to tending to her flowers, endless games of fetch with Dublin and checking in with family and friends. All who were lucky enough to have known Ann Laura McKenna, shared in her passion and were better for it. She will be missed by many, but fortunately remains a piece of us all.

Ann is further survived by sisters-in-law Judith (nee Davis) Mckenna and Janice (nee Dobesh) Sampson and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

She is preceded in death by parents Charlie and Ruth (nee Jones), loving husband David, granddaughter Charlotte and brother Charles.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 1:00pm on Friday, October 4, 2024, at St. Francis Borgia North Catholic Church, 1375 Covered Bridge Rd, Cedarburg, WI 53012. The family will receive visitors at the church on Friday from 11:00am to 12:45pm. Burial to follow at the church cemetery.

Memorials to the Cedarburg Garden Club are appreciated.