91, Menasha, a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on December 1, 2023. Joe was born on April 15, 1932, to Joseph M. and Olga Ferris in Green Bay, WI. He married his high school sweetheart, Elaine A. Smith on September 4, 1954. Their life together began in Chicago until Joe was called to service with the US Army to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey where he developed a love of radio communications. After military service, in 1957, Joe joined the brokerage firm Loewi & Co. and then settled in Appleton. He was a stockbroker with Loewi & Co. and its successor firm, Blunt, Ellis & Loewi for his entire career. He retired in 1989, which allowed Elaine and him to travel the world and spend winters at their condo on Marco Island, which they both truly enjoyed.

Family, church, and community came first for Joe. He and Elaine were founding members of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Appleton. He was an active member of the church, having served on the board, participated in choir, and served as a lector. Joe was a long-time member of the Appleton Noon Lions. He was presented with various awards and recognitions from the Lions but was most proud of receiving the Birch-Sturm Fellowship Award in 2011: recognition of unselfish dedication to the humanitarian projects of the Wisconsin Lions Foundation. But most important was always family – countless road trips and vacations ("family fun"), family gatherings and meals, and spending time with grandchildren and great-grandchildren and attending their numerous birthdays, graduations, weddings, school and athletic activities.

Joe also had a love of playing tennis nearly all his life and played at the Fox Cities Racquet Club and then formed a group on Marco to play regularly while in Florida. He enjoyed listening to the music of Willie Nelson and delighted in meeting new friends on his amateur radio (ham radio) – Joe being known by the call sign: K9AQX. His "communication" knowledge and love transferred to computers, as he was an early website designer for the Lions Club and his condo association in Marco.  Joe was also an avid life-long Packer fan and ticketholder, telling the story of his mother's role in the formation of the Green Bay Packers (she drove Curly Lambeau for his interview at the Indian Packing Company). He was also a proud alumnus of UW-Madison.

Sadly in 2020 Joe was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. With Elaine as his devoted caregiver, he was able to remain in his home – content and so loved and cared for. We will miss Joe – his "dad-isms", his smile, his fun and funny nature and his everlasting love of family, especially for his wife.  We find peace in knowing that God will now be his eternal Caregiver and he is now with his mom, dad, and brother and that we will all be reunited with him some day in Heaven.

Joe is survived by his best friend and wife of 69 years, Elaine and six children and 19 grandchildren: Joe (Deb) Ferris of Green Bay, WI, and their children Jessie, Joe (Molly), Jamie and Jack; Mike (Andrea) Ferris of Appleton, WI, and their children Steve, Michelle (Dustin) Capelle and Jeff; Tom (Jeanne) Ferris of Holts Summit, MO, and their daughter Laura (Ryan) Seabough; Mary Jo (Tim) Seline of Menasha, WI, and their children Lauren (Darren) Seline-Nabor, Ali (Colin) Seline-Johnson, Audun and Kirsten; Dan (Cindy) Ferris of Menasha, WI, and their children Nick (Rebecca), Matt (Meghan), Drew, Sam and Zach; Steve (Kara) Ferris of Appleton, WI, and their children Kaden and Keaton; and 9 great-grandchildren.  He is also survived by two sisters-in-law: Nancy Ferris and Sandra (Haviland) Strode-Jackson; brother-in-law, Douglas Person and nieces and nephews.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Richard H. Ferris; mother-in-law, Lorraine M. Smith; father-in-law, John C. Smith: and sister-in-law, Sharon Pearson.

The family would like to thank the entire staff at St. Elizabeth's Hospital for their care and compassion.  We would also like to thank those very special friends that continued to visit with and take out Joe and Elaine, even through Joe's physical and memory challenges.

Funeral mass will be held at 11:00am on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at St. Bernadette Catholic Church (2331 E Lourdes Dr), Appleton, WI. Visitation will be held at St. Bernadette's prior to mass from 9:00am to 11:00am. Entombment will take place in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Appleton.

A Live Streaming of the Mass can be accessed by clicking on the link below, starting at 10:55 AM on Tuesday.

https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/9438925915

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in memory of Joe to Appleton Noon Lions or the Lewy Body Dementia Association, 912 Killian Hill Road, S.W., Lilburn, GA 30047 (lbda@lbda.org).