Nancy A. Padesky

Nancy A. (Baum) Padesky, 88, of La Crosse, passed away Wednesday, May 5, 2021, at Mayo Health System La Crosse.

Nancy was born April 16, 1933, in La Crosse, to Elizabeth (Sieger) and Robert Baum, the middle of three children. After graduating from La Crosse Aquinas High School, she attended the St Francis School of Nursing, graduating in 1954.

She married Thomas Padesky on September 15, 1956, in St Wenceslaus Catholic Church, La Crosse. They had three children, Mark, Mike and Ann.

Nancy worked at Skemp Clinic, now Mayo Clinic, for 38 years in the Pediatrics Department. After her retirement in 1995, she turned to volunteering at Mayo Health in Child Development and with the Franciscan Healthcare Auxiliary. She loved volunteering at the annual Geranium Sale. She enjoyed traveling, especially the many vacations she took with her brothers and sister-in-law, with a house on the beach in Puerto Vallarta being one of her favorites. A bucket list trip was an Alaskan Cruise taken in 2013 with Tom, her children and extended family. Nancy was an avid sports fan and enjoyed watching the Brewers and Packers and playing golf and bowling. One of her passions was getting together with her friends to play Mah Jongg and bridge. She was an original member of the Nurse’s Bridge Group. She was an active member of Blessed Sacrament Parish, serving as a Eucharistic Minister and sang in the Funeral Choir for many years.

She is survived by her three children, Mark (Mary), Mike and Ann, all of La Crosse, and her granddogs, as well as many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, her mother and father, mother and father-in-law, Marie and Charles, brothers, Robert Baum and Michael Tighe, brothers-in –law, Jack and Don Padesky and Gerard Kneifl, sisters-in-law, Sondra Baum, Millie and Jeanette Padesky and Jeanne Kneifl, niece Mary Kneifl and nephews, Bruce Caldwell and Mark Dobbs.

A funeral mass will be held at 10:30am on Tuesday, May 11, in Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 130 Losey Blvd S, La Crosse. Rev Peter Raj will be the celebrant with burial in the Catholic Cemetery, La Crosse. Family and friends may attend visitation at the church from 9:00am until the time of Mass. Appropriate COVID-19 restrictions will be appreciated.

The Funeral Mass can be livestreamed at www.bsplacrosse.org

Memorials are preferred to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church Parish or St Clare Health Mission.

The family would like to thank the staff at The Willows, especially Marla and Luann, for their wonderful care and for making mom feel welcome and at home.