Lee Ann Pruske

Lee Ann Pruske (nee Witt) age 67, died on October 17th, 2025 from complications after an 11 day hospital stay initiated by a sudden ventricular bleed in her lung on October 6th. Lee Ann was a middle child of 6, born to Olive and Gustave Witt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 24th, 1958. Lee Ann grew up in the Milwaukee area attending St. Thomas Aquinas until 7th grade. The family moved north to Wausau, Wisconsin in 1972 where she attended St. Anne's for 8th grade and Wausau West High School graduating in 1976.
Moving back to Milwaukee post high school she got her first full time job in 1979, at First Bank - Midland in the Corporate Trust Department as a supervisor! Lee Ann worked at Sentry Foods in the early 80s where she met her husband Jeff of 41 years. She used to say every time she saw him at work she was hearing wedding bells, it may have been the cash register! After Sentry she started at ARI, until it closed, an agriculture logistics company where she learned computer science and coding. Earning herself a Computer Programming and Operation Certificate from Control Data Institute. In the early 90s she found herself at Pfister and Vogel Tannery working on the floor helping to pay the bills and her tuition. She completed her first degree, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch in 1996.
Two years later, Lee Ann had gone back to school again to earn a Post Baccalaureate Wisconsin Teacher Certification for grades 1-6 with a science minor from UW-Milwaukee and so began her extensive 26 year career as an educator with MPS. In 2004 she earned her second degree, Masters of Science in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on mathematics and science education from UW-Milwaukee. In 2005 she completed a Math Fellowship at UW-Milwaukee which aided in the next steps of her journey. From 2006-2008 Lee Ann was on the teaching side of things at UW-Milwaukee working as both an Ad Hoc Lecturer and Teacher in Residence teaching the teachers how to teach math and aiding in their student teaching semesters. Over the years in MPS Lee Ann was a classroom teacher and the Math and Science specialist at Gaenslen Elementary. She worked at the Central Office as a Math Teaching Specialist that allowed her to not only travel to schools and be part of the team that wrote and implemented new math curriculum, but also fulfilled her love of travel with countless conferences across the U.S (often bringing Jeff and Julie along for the ride). Lee Ann ended her career in MPS as a School Support Teacher coaching and mentoring staff, as well as implemented the SRBI Reading intervention at Zablocki Elementary focusing on math and reading for all grade levels. Retiring in December of 2024,
Lee Ann loved being an educator. She believed every student mattered, deserved to learn and be shown different ways to know things to ensure understanding, and that as long as the student met her at the door, she would always take the time to bring them in and make them a part of her learning community. As an educator Lee Ann touched thousands of lives, her dedication and passion for the students will be truly missed. Mrs. Pruske was one of a kind!
Outside of work she loved to be creative. You could find her crafting, painting, learning stained glass, sewing costumes, creating floral decor for weddings, quilting and more! Lee Ann was an avid traveler, life long learner, enjoyed the performing arts, and reading. She spent all of her time with her daughter Julie and loving and dedicated husband Jeff Pruske of 41 years, 45 years together. Lee Ann was the center of her family, the string that kept her siblings all together and connected organizing family events, reunions, holidays, and trips! If she wasn't planning a trip then she was taking one near and far Lee Ann saw it all. Hitting all 50 states, including Alaska, Jamaica, The Virgin Islands, The Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico. Her travels were always captured on camera, Lee Ann is often seen in photos with a camera in hand documenting the experiences. It is hard to find photos of her sometimes because she so actively loved to capture the scenery, and candid shots of her loved ones enjoy things, forgetting to turn the camera around or hand it off to someone else to capture her. There are thousands of physical, slide form, and digital photos from her life that her family can cherish and remember Lee Ann with forever.
Unfortunately, Lee Ann had various health struggles starting in about 2010 with a bout of E. Coli earning herself a hernia surgery in 2013 from the damage. In summer of 2014, she coughed up a "piece of something," from her lungs which began a 2 year journey with a diagnoses, a lobectomy, multiple rounds of chemo and radiation, and a recurrence with more chemo and radiation until her last session in January of 2016. Lee Ann battled and fought courageously beating stage 3 lung cancer as a non smoker! Her heart was damaged from the radiation and she ended up needing a TAVR valve and a stent in her heart within 6 months of each other in 2022. Lee Ann battled a few bouts of pneumonia post lobectomy, had her gallbladder removed, and was just generally tired from all the things her body had been through, but she never gave up and she never stopped working throughout it all.
Summer of 2025 she was in voice therapy due to a knick in her vocal cords during the intubation from her gallbladder surgery that made her voice raspy and took some of the humph out of it. She was also in a program working to strengthen herself and prepare for a double knee replacement! Relatively speaking she was healthy and working on preparing for a long retirement traveling with the love of her life all over the world and learning all the quilting techniques and patterns, mastering that craft too. One of Lee Ann's many talents was being able to enter a room full of strangers and leave it with new friends. She brought people in and made them feel comfortable by being the one to break the ice and talk to anyone about anything, she acquired hundreds of stories. Her laughter, wit, voice of reason and reassurance, sassiness, and stories will be deeply missed. She is loved by so many.
She is survived by her husband Jeff Pruske and daughter Julie Pruske. Her siblings Sandra (Michael) Klempke, Brian (Mary) Witt, Gerald (Donna) Witt, all of Wisconsin and Maureen (Thomas) Weitzel of Kent, WA. She is further survived by her nieces and nephews Danielle (David) Voigt, and Ryan Witt, all of Wisconsin, and Andrew and Adam (Clarissa) Weitzel of Washington. Also, by her great nephews and niece, Nicholas Voigt of Wisconsin, and Adam Jr. and Sophia Weitzel of Washington and many more family and friends. Lee Ann was preceded in death by her mother Olive Witt, sister Karen Witt, and niece Nicole Witt.
A Christian Funeral will be held on November 8th, 2025 at SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church, 2490 N Cramer St. Milwaukee, WI 53211. There will be a Visitation at the church at 11am followed by a 12pm Mass and Luncheon at Hubbard Park Lodge, 3565 N Morris Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53211 to celebrate Lee Ann's life from 2:30pm - 6:30pm.
Lee Ann was loved by so many, and all are welcome to both the mass and luncheon. The family requests that you wear a bright color as Lee Ann never believed in wearing black to a funeral, as it is a celebration of life. In keeping with her talent of sharing stories and getting to know people, please also bring a story to share that encompasses your relationship with Lee Ann or that makes you think of her. You can share your story at the luncheon or leave a written version.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite zoo or wildlife sanctuary. Lee Ann loved elephants! She supported the rescue efforts of orphaned elephants by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust via adoption. To adopt an elephant: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans

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