Deanna Mae Franklin, age 85 of Menomonie, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 4, 2024 with family and caregivers from St Croix Hospice by her side. She was born on July 6, 1939 to parents Louis Carl and Esther Marie (Wagner) Rineck in Hatchville, WI. Deanna and her family lived in various places around the Chippewa Valley before settling in the Hudson area, where she met her husband William J Franklin Sr. Together, they were blessed with five children and built their family home in North Hudson.

Deanna will be remembered for her Servant’s heart, amazing smile, hard work ethic, and the ability to simply love others. She generously shared these gifts with her family, as a waitress at Sam’s Bowling Alley, a bartender at Starr’s Bar, and an in-home daycare provider. As her children grew and built their own families, she decided to obtain her driver’s license and wrote her first resume for a job at the newly built Walmart in Hudson. Her hard work ethic was quickly recognized and after multiple promotions, she would transfer to a store in Longview Washington, where she assisted opening stores across Washington and Oregon until her retirement. During this time she enjoyed being a part of local service organizations, and built many more deep and lasting relationships. In retirement she returned to the Midwest and finally settled in Menomonie where her final years were spent blessing many while at The Neighbors of Dunn County.

She will remain in the hearts of her children William (Jackie) Franklin Jr., Kimberly (Kim) Moe, Kent (Lisa) Franklin, Nicole (Ron) DeCoster, and LeAnn (Bill) Swanson; grandchildren James (Jenny) Franklin, Thomas Franklin, Joshua (Janelle) Franklin, Gregory Franklin, Harley (Priscilla) Moe, LuAnn (Andy) Tiedemann, Christopher DeCoster, Amy (Jared) Nowak, Elizabeth (John Peroutka) DeCoster, Nicholas DeCoster, Lucas DeCoster, Ty Pitt-Swanson, and Gabriel Swanson; great grandchildren Averi, Mason, Riley, Marshall, Mariah, Luke, and Denna; siblings Roger (Janette) Rineck Sr.; sister in law Beverly Rineck, as well as many nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents and siblings Marcella (Emil) Wagner, Vernetta (Lyman) Larson, Louis Jr. “Bud” (Betty), James, Arnie (Elaine), Ardella (Gaylord) Worrell, John (Mary), and Larry Rineck.

A memorial service celebrating Deanna’s life will be held on Friday November 15, 2024 at the O’Connell Family Funeral Home in Baldwin, WI. Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. A celebratory service with Pastor Kevin Schippers, starting at 4:00 p.m.

Memorials are preferred to the family or a charity of your choice.