Ann Tollaksen, age 79 of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin passed away peacefully Sunday, August 20, 2023 at St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, Wisconsin surrounded by her loving family.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Gathering will be held Saturday, December 9, 2023 at Trappers Turn in Wisconsin Dells from 12:00 noon to 3:00PM.

Ann was born May 28, 1944 in Hartford, Wisconsin, the daughter of Matthew and Phyllis (Schweitzer) Gonring. She graduated from Holy Angels grade school in 1958 and West Bend High School in 1962 and later attended St. Norbert's College and earned a Bachelor's Degree, graduating in 1966, and was a member of Theta Phi Alpha sorority. She spent a summer working on Mackinac Island in between college years and then one summer in the Dells. She bumped into Peter down on the lower Dells beach... he was driving a boat while shooting a commercial for Evinrude Motors. They met that day and the rest was history. In November 1966 she married Peter Tollaksen in West Bend, Wisconsin and alongside her husband, they worked with his father at the Wisconsin Deer Park which they eventually owned and operated, and Ann was the retail souvenir buyer for the Deer Park for many years. Ann was a community minded person; she was a founding/charter member of the Dells Area St. Vincent DePaul, serving on the board of directors for 30 years, she served on the St. Cecilia Catholic Church Parish Council for 3 years, participated in the 1st Medical Mission to Thiotte, Haiti (sister city to Wisconsin Dells) in 1995 for 12 days, served on St. Clare's Hospital Board, was a member and served as secretary of the Fireside Homemakers Club, and she organized the Deer Park Ladies Bowling Team. Always actively engaged with friends, she loved to play tennis, attending tournaments and camps, and enjoyed exercising and being active. With her husband Peter, they loved to go road-tripping all over the United States, especially the southwest, New Mexico and Mexico, discovering sites and historical features along the way. Ft. Myers Beach, Florida was a special family getaway in the 1960's, when it was still quaint with cottages on the beaches. Ann's final travels of her lifetime were inspired by her first grandchild's honeymoon. This was a cruise in early May that took Ann along with her daughter Katie to Italy, Greece and Turkey. At home Ann so treasured gardening with her jade plants, cactuses and flowers and tending to her feathered friends at the feeders and just watching them. She made her own special blend of birdseed, ensuring her favorites would visit frequently. Most important in her life was her beautiful and loving children; sons, Jason Tollaksen and Aaron (Sophie) Tollaksen; a daughter, Kathryn "Katie" Tollaksen; and seven adoring grandchildren; Aaron Russell (Eden), Halle Kate, Lauren, Duke, Peyton, Nolan and Piper. They were the "light of her life" and she made every event for her children and her children's children and family gatherings were a no miss priority. Overall, Ann had an infectious, warm and loving personality that made others enjoy being around her. She is further survived by a brother, Mattie (Maggie) Gonring; sisters, Phyllis (John) Eichenseer, Katie (David) Schoenwetter and Lynn (John) Punzenberger; and brother and sister-in-law, John and Shirley Tollaksen and many dear friends. She made priority time to stay closely connected with her siblings and her friends, frequently sharing time, laughs, events and special memories. She was preceded in death by her parents, Phyllis and Matt Gonring and husband, Peter. Peter passed away in 2020, and she so cherished their 54 years of marriage.

In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made to the Dells Area St Vincent de Paul.