Maxine R. Leenhouts

Mrs Maxine Leenhouts died Thursday, July 20th, 2017 following a year-long fight with a challenging illness. She was 90.
She was born November 2nd, 1926 to the late Pearl and Wendell Maxted, in rural Neva, Wisconsin. Maxine grew up in east-central Wisconsin during the Depression and World War II. She graduated from New London High School in 1944, and earned her registered nursing degree from Milwaukee County Hospital School of Nursing in early 1948. Maxine married Kenneth Leenhouts in New London, Wisconsin, on July 1, 1950.
She lived with her husband in California while he served in the Navy, where they had their son, Peter. After Ken’s military service was complete, they returned to Wisconsin, and settled in Menomonee Falls, where they had their children Ann, Juliana, and Jon.
In 1963, Maxine and Ken moved their family to a new home they had built on the ridge of hills north of Vernon Center, above the Fox River, in which they lived for the rest of their lives.
Maxine and Ken were active congregants in the Mukwonago Congregational Church. They helped to found the Mukwonago Christian Fellowship in 1971, which later became the Mukwonago United Church of Christ. Maxine was elected to the Mukwonago School Board in the early 1970’s, on which she served two terms, and was active in a wide variety of church, environmental, community service and political activities both in Mukwonago and in Waukesha.
She went back to college and obtained her Bachelor's Degree from Carroll College in 1985, then returned to nursing at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. Maxine was a fiercely dedicated nurse, and proud of her long service. She retired only to care for her husband through his final lengthy illness. Following his passing in 2006, she refused most travel opportunities, wanting to remain close to the home which she and Ken built and in which they raised their family. She thoroughly enjoyed her retirement, membership in her church, and family and friends, and loved to be the center of her family's activities. She was truly the matriarch of her large and closely-knit family.
Maxine actively enjoyed a wide range of outdoor activities, from canoeing, hiking and birdwatching (especially in the Kettle Moraine and on the Retzer Nature Center). While her children grew up, she hiked and rode horseback with them, ranging far and wide over their rural property, on which she and Ken kept a wide variety of animals – sheep, goats, horses, ducks, geese and chickens – for many years. While the animals gradually dropped away over time, she did keep a flock of chickens until she was 89, and gave away the eggs to family and friends. She swam three times a week at Carroll College and other aquatic centers, no matter what the weather, with her close friend, Doris Karlman. And, she was very widely read, and enjoyed well-thought out arguments over virtually any subject, as well as discussions on topics ranging from medicine and nursing to nature.
Maxine is survived by two of her sisters, Jean Heyse (Robert, deceased) of Waunakee and Wendy (Dr Dean) Lenz of Waupun (her third sister, Shirley Faye Bork, predeceased Maxine), her four adult children, Peter (Helen) Leenhouts of Port Ludlow, Wash., Ann (Gerald) Shane of the town of Waukesha, Juliana (John) Hartman of Aurora, Ohio, and Jon (Sonja ) Leenhouts of Chippewa Falls; nine grandchildren (Katherine and James (Alice) Leenhouts, Alex and Nick Shane, Lindsay Wilson (Luke) and Lauren Hartman, and Hans, Erik and Keri Ann Leenhouts; three great-grandchildren (Declan Thomas, Juniper Ruby and Elizabeth Margaret), her extended family; and many, many special friends.
The family is planning a memorial service on Saturday, August 19th, 2017, at the Mukwonago United Church of Christ. Family and friends will be welcomed at 11am, the service will begin promptly at noon, and a light luncheon will be served at 1pm. The Mukwonago United Church of Christ is located at S93 W30740 Hwy NN Mukwonago WI 53149.
If desired, memorials in Maxine Leenhouts' name, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Retzer Nature Center Oak Savanna in Waukesha, the Wisconsin Environmental Action League, or the Mukwonago United Church of Christ.
Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home, Crematory and Preplanning Services is honored to serve the family. For further information, please call the funeral home at 262-547-4035 or visit our website at www.randledable.com for directions or to leave the family an online tribute message.