Violet Day

Violet Day, age 98, died peacefully at Agrace Hospicecare in Fitchburg, WI, on January 15th, 2021. She was born August 9th, 1922, in Keewatin, Minnesota, to Jura and Misa Vranesh. The ninth of ten living children, she was reared among the families of iron ore miners, who, as she said, “w ere poor, but never hungry.” She graduated from high school, then moved with family friends to Milwaukee to work in a factory during the war. There she met, and later married, John Day, a navy veteran. They moved to Wausau, then to Neenah. She is survived by her children: Susan (Steven) Spiro; Sally (Richard Kelnhofer) Day; Debbie (David Thieman) Day; grandchildren Jaala (Michael Callahan) Spiro; Jacob (Krista) Spiro; Madeleine (David) Duffey; and great-grandchildren Corrina and Steve Callahan, Nicholas Duffey, and Kai and Zoe Spiro; by her sister, Dorothy Mock, and many nieces and nephews and their children. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, John, eight siblings, and great-grandson Alex Duffey. Vi was a gregarious friend and a world-class seamstress. The clothes she made for her daughters, and later, her purses, were legendary. She baked countless loaves of bread, apple pies, Serbian butterhorns, and patitsa, and loved to go shopping. She enjoyed the company of her many friends. The family is grateful for the care given to her by the staff at Tennyson Senior Living, and at Agrace Hospicecare. “I guess I'm lucky,” she’d say. “I had a long and good life.” She will be fondly remembered by family and friends. A memorial service will be held at Oak Hill Cemetery in Neenah, Wisconsin, at a date to be determined. You may contact Ryan Funeral Home (608-249-8257); (info@ryanfuneralservice.com); (www.ryanfuneralservice.com) for details.