Dr. Johanna Moore-Baxandall (nee Steigleder)
Born February 7, 1928 in Ilvesheim, Germany, the only child of Phillip and Elise (Berry) Steigleder, and passed peacefully on August 11, 2017 at Evergreen-Sharehaven in Oshkosh, WI. World War II in Nazi Germany not only claimed her beloved father, a member of the resistance, but made her a lifelong progressive activist and advocate for human rights.
After the war, Johanna worked as a translator for the American Red Cross in Karlsruhe, where she met her first husband, U.S. Army Lt. Matthew Moore. They came to the United States in 1948, and lived in California, Japan, and Georgia before settling in Wisconsin.
Johanna received a teaching degree (B.S.) from Carroll College, where she was named "Teacher of the Year," the first of many awards for excellence in teaching, before relocating to Milwaukee, where she earned both her M.S. and Ph.D. in education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).
She taught in the UWM German Department for over 25 years, and her charismatic personality and outstanding teaching skills served to inspire and guide a generation of students, many of whom themselves became educators. Johanna also forged innumerable lifelong friendships with colleagues and graduates.
When UWM received prominent German-speaking guests and visiting artists, Johanna was there to welcome and befriend them, including the distinguished literary critic and author Hans Mayer; Austrian poet Ernst Jandl; sociologist and philosopher Oskar Negt; and award-winning Austrian artist Valie Export. Johanna was also a skilled translator of both fiction and literary/social criticism, and served for many years as managing editor of New German Critique, an interdisciplinary journal of German studies.
Upon retirement from UWM, Johanna relocated to Oshkosh and married Lee Baxandall, with whom she continued to enjoy life and traveled extensively until his death in 2008. In 2012, she moved to Evergreen Retirement Community in Oshkosh, where she delighted her fellow residents with tales of her eventful life and renditions of German songs, enjoyed swimming and other activities, and continued to make new friends.
She is survived by her daughter Melanie and son-in-law John Steen of Omro; step-son Phineas Baxandall; step-grandchildren Staci, Scott, and Kevin Steen, and Julian and Nell Baxandall; her closest friends Dr. Gudrun Prier, Carolyn Sonneborn Mayr, and Beth Weckmueller; and countless other friends and family members on both sides of the Atlantic.
Services will take place on Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at Seefeld Funeral Home, 1025 Oregon Street, Oshkosh, WI. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM with visitation from 11:00 AM until time of service. She will be laid to rest at Lake View Memorial Park.
The family wishes to give special thanks to Dr. Kirtida Ringwala and the Evergreen-Sharehaven staff for the compassionate care Johanna received.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Evergreen Foundation-Oshkosh or to the scholarship fund of the UWM Foundation-Milwaukee.