Joanne C. Hanschman

of Arlington Heights, IL and formerly of Schaumburg

Joanne C. (nee Smith) Hanschman was born on September 17, 1940, in Hartford, Wisconsin to Harry J. and Lena G. (nee Martino) Smith. She died early on Saturday morning, August 2, 2025, in her sleep, after many special gatherings with family, friends, and care providers at Sunrise of Prospect Heights, Illinois. A lifelong Christian, she knew she was going to a better place. Joanne was preceded in death by her parents and her husband Ronald Hanschman.

She is survived by her sister Judy Smith; her children: Debbie (Jerry) McComb and Tom (Kim) Hanschman; her beautiful granddaughters: Kylie (Kyle Knoke) Hanschman, Stephanie McComb, and Keira Hanschman; and her brand-new, handsome great grandson Henry.

Joanne was born and raised in Hartford, Wisconsin and graduated from Hartford High School. Seeking a life and career in the big city, after receiving a clerical certification, she moved to Chicago, where she met her husband, Ron, of 58 years, while working at United Airlines. They were married in May of 1962, and they lived in Bellwood before building a home in Schaumburg and moving there in 1967.

While raising two children, she had a long, successful, and joyful career in non-profit and business on many levels. Following a brief time at United Airlines as an administrative assistant at its headquarters, she was an integral part of the administrative/operations team at the former Twinbrook YMCA in Schaumburg, where her kids were regular campers and then leaders. In fact, she, Ron, and countless other community members were instrumental in the development of that legendary YMCA operation.

The Hanschman Family has always had a strong entrepreneurial spirit. This was on full display as Joanne became the owner/operator of Ye Olde Smoke Shoppe in Schaumburg in the 1980s. Not only was Joanne the face and backbone of this retail operation, but her actual face, while smoking a cigar, was on the cover of Smokeshop Magazine as the only female tobacconist in the Chicagoland area. She was loved by all of her customers from every walk of life, and it was not unusual to see hook and ladder fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances taking up dozens of parking spaces at the old Weathersfield Way Shopping Center on Roselle Road. The first responders and many others adored Joanne, her gift of gab, and her concern for them and their families. Her store was a meeting place in the same fashion as the famed Boston bar “Cheers” back in the day. Eventually, Joanne recognized and embraced the anti-smoking fervor and closed the business.

Joanne took her business skills and love of people to Olsten Staffing Services, where she made lifelong friends and found her way to her beloved Motorola Corporation in Schaumburg, where she worked for decades in many key, high-level administrative support positions. She found the most joy in helping others, especially those in high-ranking positions, including the top brass at Motorola. During her years there, she supported Motorola’s Sports Marketing Division at a time when one could not turn on the TV nor attend a major sporting event without seeing that famous “M”. She would shower her family with tickets for events such as the Chicago Bulls with Benny the Bull visiting our seats, the Daytona 500, the Phoenix/Western Open golf tournament, open-wheel Champ/Indy Car Racing at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, and so many others. With the family being long-time Chicago Bears’ season ticket holders, she always smiled proudly as she watched pro football coaches on the sidelines donning their Motorola headsets! Joanne forever looked upon those days with excitement, joy, and gratitude.

Joanne was a lifelong piano player, an avid reader, a downhill snow skier, and a top-notch player of games. She was a card shark as well as a lover of every board game ever invented, and the Hanschman house was full of them (and Joanne’s daughter Debbie still has all of the games). She played Bridge, Pinochle, and Hearts, but her passion was all things Poker. She had bags of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters in drawers and cabinets throughout the house, just in case a game broke out. The family has so many special memories of friends and family gathered at the Schaumburg house for cards. Her favorites were the infamous “Screw Your Neighbor” and the less famous “Kings in the Corner”. She was a highly skilled Scrabble and Boggle player, and she loved Tripoley. She instilled a love of game-playing in her children and grand-children. She even introduced the same passion to many of her kids’ childhood friends. Such great memories!!

A list of things that hold deep meaning for Joanne’s family and friends when they think about her include: a really good Bloody Mary, Brandy Old Fashioned, Mojito, green Jell-O at all holiday feasts and family gatherings, the U.P. and Hurley (WI), Panama City Beach (FL), Coors Lite, Fresca, Root Beer Floats, Crème de Menthe Sundaes, Hot Fudge Sundaes, Doritos and other snacks, Schaum Tortes with vanilla ice cream and strawberries, lemon meringue pie, and the most delicious Italian meatballs, spaghetti sauce, and garlic bread anyone has ever made on the planet hands down!!

Finally, here are just a couple of quotes from family and friends about Joanne, which truly capture her essence: “Joanne was the only person I knew who ALWAYS asked you about you and didn’t talk about herself. She was genuinely interested in others and their work and their lives.” Her former boss and good friend at Motorola noted, “Joanne was a bright light.” And, “Your mom was an amazing force of nature.” Indeed, she was, and she will be missed by so many who knew her.

Services and Interment will be held privately, but the family is planning a meaningful and fun Celebration of Life in the Fall of 2025. This party will honor Joanne as well as her late, beloved husband Ron, who passed in early 2020, just prior to the world shutting down. As the family notes, “There will be many themes involved as they both lived life to the fullest. The shenanigans will be endless! Be prepared for plenty of tears but even more laughs and good times!!”

In lieu of flowers, Joanne’s family would be grateful for any-sized monetary donations to be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation (michaeljfox.org), which specializes not only in Parkinson’s research but also the research of and potential cure for that terrible disease and Lewy Body Dementia. Donations could also be directed to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (lbda.org). The family appreciates your support for this critical research as these diseases affect millions of people and their families worldwide.