Joseph J. Schramm

PORT CLINTON — On the spring morning of April 1, 1954, at 8:57 a.m., Henry and Lois (Quisno) Schramm, both deceased, gave birth to a young lad named Joseph J. Schramm. Joseph had seven siblings, Raymond Schramm, deceased, Agnes Sue (Sapp) Schramm, deceased, Virginia (Brown) Schramm, Ellen (Speigal) Schramm, Rosemary Schramm, Louise (Spry) Schramm, and Kathryn (Giljum) Schramm, deceased. Along with the many sisters and his brother, Joseph was an uncle to many nieces and nephews. The surviving sons of Joseph are Bryan and Eric Schramm, whose wives are Kimberly and Teresa Schramm respectively. Joseph also has a grandson, Benjamin Schramm, son of Eric and Teresa Schramm. Joseph and his significant other for the past 15 years, Cheri Katynski, and her son, Kevin Katynski, moved from Port Clinton to Sandusky in 2015.Joseph grew up in Port Clinton, and graduated from Port Clinton High School in 1973. After high school, Joseph attended Terra State Community College to obtain a skilled trade refrigeration & AC. In 1976, he graduated from Terra College and began his career within the HVAC industry. Throughout his career, he worked at many HVAC companies in northern Ohio, which include: Ohler & Holzhauer, O'Gray Mechanical, Helm and Associates, and Johnson controls for more than 20 years until retirement in 2013. He was a member of the Pipefitters of Northern Ohio-Local 50 for most of his enjoyed career. Many of Joseph's hobbies and interests include: everything Cleveland sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes, learning about history, working on cars, camping with family, hiking, canoeing, and taking road trips.The year of 2015 was a special and courageous time for Joseph. Having the temerity, along with some nervousness, he came out to family and friends that he was transgender. Adopting the name of JoAnn Schramm and living a lifestyle where she was able to be her true self, was something that took her a very long time to experience. Upon coming out as JoAnn, she was an advocate for the LGBTQ community and she also participated with the PRIDE organization at the Cleveland Clinic while going through her transition. But in 2016, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. After a year of fighting her illness, Cleveland Clinic was able to shrink the cancer and she became cancer free. Following the good news from the doctors, she was able to enjoy life and be herself. Then in September of this year, JoAnn was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage four bone cancer. After three months of fighting the cancer, JoAnn Schramm passed away peacefully on the evening of Dec. 19, 2017, at her home in Sandusky, Ohio with loved ones at her side.The family of JoAnn wants to sincerely thank all volunteers, aides, nurses and loved ones who assisted in providing care for JoAnn throughout her illness. It was her wishes to have her body donated to medical research at the Cleveland Clinic. Upon the research conducted by the medical students from Lerner College of Medicine, a service will be held for her life celebration at Neidecker, LeVeck & Crosser Funeral Home in Port Clinton, at a later date.