JoAnn Cristine Groleau

April 28, 1931 - May 28, 2019

Joanne Cristine Groleau, 88, passed away on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. Joanne was born April 28th 1931, the only child of Jessup and Jessie LaLone. She married the love of her life, Dorlen Groleau on March 25, 1949. Joanne was a hard worker and extremely creative. She wasn’t too proud to take on any job and whatever she did, she worked hard at, and did it well. She picked fruit, shingled roofs, pressed shirts, groomed dogs, cleaned houses, restored stained glass and many other tasks that came her way. She turned some of her many talents into marketable art. Her driftwood sculptures and stained glass can be found in many homes across northern Michigan. Joanne also had a great sense of adventure and knew how to have fun. As a young girl, her father and mother took a boat down the Mississippi River, through the Gulf of Mexico and around the state of Florida. As adult, she repeated that journey several times with her son Chris. She was not a person you would find working a room at a social event, but if she heard a deck of cards being shuffled, she was ready to play. In her younger years she loved to fish and hunt with her boys. It was not unusual for her to bag the first buck of the season (though it was just as likely you’d find her in a deer blind reading a book). Joanne is survived by her sons Brent (Pat) Groleau of Rapid City and Ralph (Tina) Groleau of Kalkaska; her daughter, Ann Jeannine (Tony) Trotter of Green Bay, Wis; and grandchildren Kirt, Keri, Rick, Aimee, Ava, Andrew, Ryan and Dayton and several great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her sons Marty and Chris. A memorial service will be held at a future date.