JOAN M. HUGHES Mrs. Joan Hughes of Port Washington formerly of Fredonia passed away at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton following a suspected heart attack on Wednesday afternoon November 12 2014. She was 83 years old. Joan was born in Fond du Lac on July 20 1931 daughter of Edward and Helen Heimann Paulus. She grew up in the Holy Cross area and graduated from St. Mary's Academy in Milwaukee in June 1949. Joan graduated from St. Louis University in June 1952 as a registered nurse and returned home to Wisconsin. On September 3 1955 she was united in marriage with Richard Hughes at Holy Cross Catholic Church. The couple settled in the area and raised eight children. He preceded her in death in 1999. Joan worked for a long time as a Nursing Service Supervisor at Saint Alphonsus Hospital in Port Washington then as a pool nurse at various places including GE Medical Systems and Borden. She returned to school in 1986 and became a Certified Occupational Health Nurse. She was a former member of the Southeastern Wisconsin American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (SEWAOHNT) and the American Board of Occupational Health Nurses (ABOHN). Mrs. Hughes was a lifetime member of Holy Cross Chapel and was very active at church; she was a Eucharistic Minister a Sacristan former President of the Christian Women's group and ran all of the funeral lunches at Holy Cross for many years. In her spare time she enjoyed gardening and scrap booking. Over her lifetime she watched many sporting events and extracurricular activities for both her children and grandchildren and loved every moment of it. Mrs. Hughes is survived by her eight children: William (Mary) Hughes of Waukesha Kristen (Bruce Jones) Hughes of Orlando FL Katie (Jeff) Kaul of Fredonia Rick (Parveen) Hughes of the Town of Fredonia Patrice Hughes of Cary NC Brian (Elisa) Hughes of Apoka FL Gerard (Laurie) Hughes of Port Washington and Ed (Heidi) Hughes of the Town of Plymouth. She is further survived by 13 grandchildren 1 great-grandson sister-in-law Mailu Sterling of Houma LA sister-in-law Elvira Paulus of Belgium WI and brother in law Joe Klein of Fredonia WInieces nephews other relatives and many friends. She is preceded in death by her parents husband brother Edward Paulus and sister Marilyn Klein. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12 noon on Saturday November 22 at Divine Savior / Holy Cross Chapel 5332 Hwy B Belgium. Father Jim Ernster will preside. Joan will be laid to rest in the parish cemetery. The family will receive visitors at the CHURCH on Saturday from 10AM until 12PM. If desired memorial donations may be made to the Food Pantry of Port Washington or Divine Savior Parish in Joan's name.