Severa Lynne Austin

Severa Austin, 85, of Madison, died in her sleep on August 25, 2023, after a full and meaningful life. Severa was a proud graduate of Randall School, West High, and the University of Washington, though her heart beat strongly for the Badgers. Both her career and personal life were marked by her devotion to social justice and public service. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia; a bureau director for Wisconsin's Department of Health and Human Services; the executive director of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin; and a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, sharing with a new generation of social workers her belief in public policy as an agent of change. Severa's greatest loves were politics, dogs, Door County, and her friends.

She will be missed by many, but especially by Mary, Cheryl, Kate, Aaron, and Molly.

Her life will be celebrated privately.

And donations that her friends wish to make on her behalf can be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. 

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service

3610 Speedway Road  Madison

(608) 238-3434