December 10, 2019 – West Bend, WI – Dawn Marie Esenberg, 88, passed away peacefully on November 26, 2019 at The Kathy Hospice, West Bend, Wisconsin. Dawn was born in 1931 in Merrill, Wisconsin to the late Lester and Hazel Hanig (Kerslake).
Dawn was the eldest of three daughters. Her two sisters Janice Schmidt (McCaughn) and Patricia Bach (Richard) predeceased her in 1988 and 2013, respectively. The family lived in Minocqua,Wisconsin.
In 1951, Dawn hopped a train from Minocqua with one bag in hand and headed to the big city of Milwaukee. In 1953, she married Arvid Esenberg and they had two children, Kim Pomeroy (Richard) and Randy Esenberg (Linda Bykowski). Arvid passed away in 1992. Dawn’s stepson, Dan Esenberg, passed away in 2012.
Dawn worked in claims at Blue Cross Blue Shield for 25+ years. One day after returning from a day at the beach while on vacation in Florida, she opened her mail to an offer of early retirement. Without hesitation, she happily took that offer and retired at age 55. She and her husband enjoyed living in North Fort Myers, Florida for 10 years before returning to Wisconsin to be with family. Dawn was a remarkable cook and loved to entertain. She passed along her cooking gifts to her family, and we will keep her love of family, food, and fun times going to honor her zest for a good time and continue making great memories.
Dawn is survived by her grandchildren, Shannon Langel (Walia), Raj (Walia), Sean Esenberg, Kelli Kwiatkowski (Esenberg), and Ross Esenberg. Dawn has four great grandchildren, Sydney, Austin, Owen, and Jordan. Dawn is further survived by her brothers-in-law, Richard Bach (Patricia) and Franklyn Esenberg (Barbara), her cousin Marilyn Bartlett, her niece Shelby Brotz (McCaughn) who Dawn considered her” second daughter,” and her dear friend Jackie Wicklund.
Dawn is further survived by many other special nieces and nephews who she loved dearly, and her friends from the Auxiliary apartments in West Bend.
Cremation and private celebration of life will be held according to Dawn’s wishes. Thank you to family and friends for touching Dawn’s life with your support and love.
