Lisa A. Holeton

Lisa Ann (Gizmo) Holeton, 47, died Tuesday April 28, 2015 after a long battle with Huntington's Disease/Chorea at Good Samaritan Society Special Care Center, Robbinsdale, MN. She was born September 22, 1967 in Appleton, WI. She attended school in Appleton where she graduated from high school. During her summers while in high school, she participated in Youth Conservation Camps throughout Wisconsin. It was there that she established a close friendship with Dawn Meier and Sheila Przesmicki, both camp counselors. At the end of her involvement in summer camps and uncertain about her future, she was invited by Sheila to come home with her to Wausau. During this visit Lisa developed a very close relationship with the Przesmicki family and became part of the family unit, with Lou and Lou serving as foster parents. Lisa attended the UWMC, then UWSP to pursue a degree in Natural Resources. Between semesters she again met up with Dawn Meier to experience and participate in US Forest Service activities in the states of WA. OR., and CA. She then took an apprenticeship with the U.S. Forest Service with emphasis on "Forest Fire Fighting" after which she was offered a position with the U.S. Forest Service near Big Sur. and Monterey, CA. As years passed, the symptoms of Huntington's began to take their toll on her to the point that she could no longer handle the challenges of fighting forest fires. She left the Forest Service and became employed in various capacities at other venues including a job she loved at Pebble Beach Golf Course where she met several various celebrity golfers. In 2005, the Huntington's began to control her body to the point that she could no longer be gainfully employed, so she reluctantly applied/received disability income. Because of her love for California, particularly the Monterey/Big Sur areas, she chose to continue living there until 2011 when the progression of Huntington's Chorea found Lisa in need of quality specialty care which she found at Good Samaritan Society Special Care Center in Robbinsdale, MN., only one of 4 or 5 such centers in the U.S. where she received the special, dignified care until the time of her death. Lisa (Gizmo) found special strength in her faith and attended Mass whenever she was able and especially enjoyed liturgical music and hymns. She was also a fan of many other types of music as well as being a fan of the Packers and Badgers. Always a lover of animals, her favorite friends were cats and dogs. Other hobbies of hers included fishing, winter tubing in Perkinstown, WI. (On home visits with Lou & Lou), gardening, biking, and picking berries, especially with her grandma, Rose Holeton in Antigo. Lisa or, like many called her, Gizmo, seemed like a fitting name to a person always with a flashlight or some gizmo in her hands. Gizmo was also a fun loving name for a person with a great sense of humor, getting people laughing and enjoying life around them. Gizmo was always there to step in to help, with your yard work or detailing your car. Just smile or laugh. That's what she would have wanted you to do :) Survivors, besides her foster parents, include her foster siblings and their families; Mark Przesmicki, Adelanto, CA; Jeff (Julie) Przesmicki, & sons, Blake & Derek, Wauwatosa; L.E.M. Sheila Przesmicki, Booneville, MS; Steven Przesmicki & children, Madison, Kyle, & Nicholas, Carlsbad, CA; Marcia (Steve) Moen & their daughters, Ashley & Kira, Cottage Grove; her natural siblings, Mike (Lynn) Holeton and their daughters, Claire and Carly, Appleton; James Holeton, Menasha; step brother, David (Andria) Holeton; and one aunt, Mary Rose (Gary) Sauter, Weston, and her sons, Mark Stroebel, Colorado, and Doctor Paul (Lisa) Stroebel, Weston, and their children, Lily, Charlie, and Lola. Among her family that preceded her in death include her natural parents; a brother, John Holeton (also from complications of Huntington's) and her grandmother, Rose Holeton, Antigo, with whom she spent many summers gardening and fishing. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 6:00 p.m. Monday May 4, 2015 at St. Matthew Catholic Church, Wausau. Msgr. Rev. Robert Hundt and Rev. Robert Thorn will preside. Burial will be in St. Wencel Cemetery, Neva. Friends may call on Monday from 3:00 p.m. until the time of services at the church. Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, 3400 Stewart Avenue is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com In lieu of flowers, PLEASE, consider a memorial to the GOOD SAMARITAN SPECIALITY CENTER, 3815 West Broadway Ave., Robbinsdale, MN. being established in Gizmo's name, as she was best known.