Nancy Lorraine Hawkinson, age 78 of Hudson, WI passed away Sunday, December 30th at United Hospital in St Paul, MN after a well fought battle with cancer.

Nancy’s contributions to Hudson were significant. She was an honored member of the Saint Croix County Historical Society, and a longtime volunteer at the Octagon House Museum. Nancy was also an active member of the Friends of the Library (Hudson) and volunteered many hours as the founder and curator of the Hudson Library’s History Room. As a charter member of the St Croix Valley Genealogical Society, she was editor of their journal ‘The PIPOST’ for 35 years. She has also been honored for her work indexing 15 years of “Historic Hudson” articles by Willis Miller and spent numerous years translating and transcribing her family’s historical documents into digital formats. She assisted countless others in researching their family histories and specialized in Norwegian genealogical research. Specifically, Nancy was a Board Member of Tronderlag of America, a member of Tre Lag Stevne Steering Committee, and you could always find her at the registration table at the Germanic Genealogical Society’s annual conference or at our local polling station (St Joseph Town Hall) during an election. Nancy was a recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from Hudson High School (Class of 1957), and retired after a full career at State Farm Insurance of Roseville, MN where she was a pioneer in shifting the world of data processing from analog to computers.

She is preceded in death by her parents Robert and Thelma (Stayberg) Gartmann and her brother Tony Gartmann. She is survived by her husband Art Hawkinson and her brother Bob (Faye) Gartmann of Woodville as well as her four children Ken (Debbie) Hawkinson, Jay Hawkinson, Karine (Matt) Maynard, and Robyn (Jeff) Wefel; her nine grandchildren Julia (Patrick) Callaghan, Jakob Wilson, Ford (Kaitlyn) Hawkinson, Elaine (Zach De Moulin) Wilson, Ben Hawkinson, Nick Hawkinson, Sarah Hawkinson, Anthony Wefel, and Carter Wefel; as well as many other nieces, nephews, and extended family.

A Funeral Mass will be held Friday January 4th, 1:00 p.m., with visitation beginning an hour prior at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Hudson, WI. A visitation is scheduled for Thursday January 3rd, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the O’Connell Family Funeral Home, Hudson, WI. Burial will follow the Mass at the Willow River Cemetery in Hudson. All are welcomed to return to the church for refreshments.