Home Instead History & Mission

The story of Home Instead Green Bay began with a family's personal journey. In a high school biography assignment, Steve Nooyen referred to his grandpa, Al DeCleene, as Superman. And, in many ways, Grandpa Al was just that.

Grandpa Al wore many shoes: caring husband, father of 12 children, grandfather, farmer, school bus driver, banjo player and singer in the church choir. He could do and bear so much with seeming ease; he was characteristically dependable to a fault; and he was a true role model when it came to hard, honest work.

While Grandpa Al was an ordinary man in many regards, those who really knew him – like his grandson Steve – realized his Superman qualities; however, by the early 1990s, loved ones began to notice that Grandpa Al was changing. Now in his mid-80s, Grandpa Al often became agitated and confused over routine tasks, like setting the thermostat in the house or even telling time. The onset of dementia was also posing challenges for Grandpa Al’s family, which was finding it increasingly difficult to ensure that he was safe and properly cared for in his long-time home near the family farm in Greenleaf, Wisconsin (nearby Green Bay).

Despite his resistance, Grandpa Al was relocated to a Green Bay-area assisted living facility. This transition was hard for Grandpa Al, but it was the best option the family had at the time. Grandpa Al spent his remaining days at the facility, and, a short time later, his grandson, Steve, stepped forward with an idea spearheaded by his experience with his grandpa.

Steve experienced firsthand the difficulties of transitioning and relocating from a home to a facility. Believing that better options had to exist, he wanted to help other older adults stay "home instead." So, through the experience with his grandfather, Steve opened Wisconsin's first Home Instead franchise in Green Bay in 1997. His goal was to provide older adults — like Grandpa Al — and their families more options, as they cope with the challenges of aging at home.

About Our Franchise Owners

Steve Nooyen - Founder and Majority Owner

Shortly after losing his grandfather — Grandpa Al — to dementia and citing a lack of home care options for his family, Steve opened the first Home Instead^® franchise in Wisconsin (Green Bay), in 1997. He served as the company's first and only employee. Subsequent acquisitions to grow the regional network followed. In total, Steve's company grew to eight sites, two satellite offices and a corporate-support team — all in Wisconsin — in 25 years.

The success of Steve’s franchises is attributed to God; in fact, Steve demoted himself to president and put God at the top of the company (our CEO). To this day, God is the CEO of We Care Senior Care. Steve then focused the company around a singular Core Value: Love (v) aka “love in action.”

In 2013, Steve created the We Care Senior Care Advisory Board to focus on big-picture strategy and to  provide advice and direction for the benefit of company management.

In 2015, Steve stepped away from the day-to-day operations of the company, facilitated by the installation of a new company president; however, as founder/owner and board chairman, he worked closely with the new company president and the Executive Leadership Team on organizational and strategic opportunities.

In 2022, Steve purchased another franchise network consisting of seven sites across Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.

Altogether, Steve’s franchise group — known as We Care Senior Care, Inc. — is the largest and among the highest performing of the 1,200+ Home Instead franchise groups worldwide.

In 2024, Steve again returned as company president, until he brought on a new president and minority partner/owner, Jake Hietpas, in 2026.

Today, Steve is active in philanthropic activities at his church, in his community and beyond. Chief among his involvement is his own nonprofit organization, Wheelchair Whitetails^®, which provides guided deer hunts for disabled hunters.

He is also involved with Challenge the Outdoors^®, a local nonprofit organization that helps enable physically challenged sportspersons to participate in hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreational activities. In 2021, Steve and his wife donated 13 acres they had previously purchased and pledged an additional $600,000 to construct a permanent home for the organization’s functions. They also funded improvements to the adjacent fishing pond to make it accessible for people with disabilities.

Internationally, Steve is part of Global Brigades/Eskala^® and has travelled to poverty-stricken communities abroad. He even helped orchestrate and finance relief trips to communities in need.

View Board of Directors.

Jake Hietpas - President and Minority Owner

Prior to joining We Care Senior Care^®, Jake was a credit analyst for a commercial lending bank in Green Bay, Wis. Shortly after, Jake joined Black Duck Partners^®, a boutique private equity firm whose primary business was operating 13 Planet Fitness^® franchises.

As the first back office support center hire, Jake was brought on as a financial analyst and quickly fell in love with the fastmoving, entrepreneurial pace of the
company. During the next 12 years, Jake would hold several leadership roles, including chief strategy and marketing officer before his departure.

During his tenure, Black Duck Partners saw explosive growth, growing from 13 stores to 135. Roles and responsibilities included mergers and acquisitions, banking, development, construction, facilities management, marketing, operations, growth strategies and more. In addition, Jake oversaw the start-up of many vertically integrating companies under Black Duck Partners’ umbrella, from real estate to software to construction. At his departure, the company employed nearly 2,000 team members, up from
approximately 150 when he started in 2013.

Jake’s professional experience is both cultural and process driven.

Jake was born and raised in Appleton, Wis., where he currently resides with his wife, Paige, and their two children. Outside of work, he loves golfing and spending time at both his family’s and Paige’s family’s cottages. Jake and his family are life-long members of St. John Nepomucene Parish in Little Chute, Wis.