Eunice Lorraine Brennan, age 95, passed from this life peacefully on Saturday, December 6, 2025 in Monroe, Wisconsin. Eunice lived a long, full life and was deeply devoted to her family, her friends, her community, and her Catholic faith.
Eunice was born on August 15, 1930 to James Hamilton Moe and Martha (Hofer) Moe in Monroe. Eunice and her brothers Donald and Roger lost their loving mother at a very young age, in Eunice’s case at the age of four. Jim remarried after the death of his wife to Genevra Fitzgerald. Eventually her younger brother Jim and sister Jane joined the family.
All those who knew Eunice appreciated her gentleness, her loving spirit, and her warm home. She was generous with her time as a volunteer in many civic and community organizations in Monroe. She had an amazing ability to keep current with the times and to stay in touch with her grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
She graduated from St. Agnes Nursing School in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1950 and worked at then St. Clare Hospital in the early part of her nursing career. She met John Daniel Brennan (Danny), who was a farmer and livestock dealer, and they married at St. Victor’s Church on July 7, 1952. She and Danny had nine children: John Daniel, Paul Timothy, Katherine Martha, Thomas James Brennan, David William, Anne Marie, Ellen Jane (Elle), Neil Francis, and Laura Rosemary.
Eunice experienced tragic loss again in her life when Danny died in a fatal traffic accident on November 27, 1963, while working in in his livestock business. Eunice moved off the farm that Danny and she owned, and was exceptionally resourceful in raising nine children on her own, bringing a cow to milk from the farm, renting a shed on the property for raising rabbits, and growing the family’s vegetables in a huge garden.
Eunice worked for Green County as a public health nurse for most of her nursing career. She traveled around rural Green County to assist schools and families with home care and vaccinations. Especially after she retired from nursing, Eunice was a dedicated volunteer and leader in her church and in her community. She served on the Monroe Library Board and as the President of the local chapter of the Audobon Society.
Eunice was especially close to her sister, Jane, and they traveled often to be together. After they both retired they took vacations together, including to Provence, France and an Amazon River trip in Peru. They talked with each other on the phone often and stayed in close touch to the very end.
Many in Monroe remember Eunice as a long-time community activist with her best friend Sybil Teehan. Eunice and Sybil participated in the Optimists Club, in a group called “The Circle”, where, on a monthly basis, they discussed with other serious women questions of spirituality, life and death. They volunteered for Family Promise, where they cooked and served food for homeless families and raised funds through community meals. They also had a lot of fun together. They traveled to Mexico to enjoy Sybil’s timeshare condominium. They rode bicycles in Ireland, traveled by river boat in Russia, and toured China, among other trips around the world.
Eunice was a wonderful cook. She was known for her delicious Swiss bratzeli cookies that she made every Christmas with an iron bequeathed to her by her Aunt Emma. She was a seriously prolific gardener, an expert knitter, who spun some of her own wool, and an avid bird watcher. She was physically fit all her life. She attended the 5:00am exercise classes at the YMCA in Monroe for years, she cross country skied in the winter on her own property, and biked and played tennis with her friends. That physical activity helped her age well; she was devoted to doing well in her physical and occupational therapy to the end.
Eunice was preceded in death by her father James H. Moe, her mother Martha (Hofer) Moe and her step-mother Genevra Fitzgerald Moe, as well as by her three brothers Donald Moe, Roger Moe, and James Moe.
She is survived by her sister Jane Phelan, Cincinnati, Ohio (Drew Derrick) and her nine children, John Daniel Brennan, Madison, WI; Paul Timothy Brennan, Madison, WI; Katherine Martha Brennan, St. Paul, MN; Thomas James Brennan, Monroe (Mary Jane Brennan), WI; David William Brennan, Monticello, WI; Anne Marie (Brennan) Jorgensen, Longmont, CO (Gerald Jorgensen); Ellen Jane (Brennan) Hands, Benicia, CA (Russell Hands); Neil Francis Brennan, Prague, Czech Republic (Pavla Kahounova Brennan); and Laura Rosemary Brennan, Antioch, IL. She is survived by her grandchildren Emilie Brennan (Antioch, IL), Leah Brennan-Magidson (Portland, OR), Mara Brennan-Magidson, Lucas Hands (Brooklyn, NY), Gabrielle Hands (Boston, MA), Seiver Jorgensen (Charlottesville, VA), Shelby Jorgensen ((Madison, WI), and Ellen Kahounova Brennan (Prague, Czech Republic). She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and many close friends.
A Memorial Mass will be held at on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) at St. Victor’s Catholic Church of Christ the King Parish. 1760 14th Street Monroe WI. A visitation with the family will precede the mass at 11:00 a.m. and a luncheon will follow, to be served at St. Victor’s.
A Memorial Fund in honor of Eunice’s legacy will be established. Condolences may be sent to the Newcomer Funeral Home at newcomerfuneralhome.net.
