Shirley JoAnn Mohn, age 85, of Minneapolis, Minnesota died peacefully at home, Saturday, August 14th, 2010. She had been living with her daughter Monica since 2007.
JoAnn was born January 19, 1925 in Story City, Iowa where her parents, Guy and Hazel Wick, operated a small produce business. Chosen as the most likely to succeed, she was valedictorian of her high school class. She was known for her beautiful singing voice and was often asked to sing for weddings in the area.
After a short attendance at Iowa State College at Ames, she changed her major from Home Economics to Social Work, which required changing schools to the University of Minnesota. She graduated in 1946. She had a long career in social work beginning with Lutheran Social Service working with adoption in northern Minnesota and ending with retirement from the Minneapolis Public Schools where she served as an elementary school social worker for 25 years.
While working in northern Minnesota, she met her husband, Truman Mohn, a pastor of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. They were married June 11, 1950. She had a long partnership with her husband in the church relishing her duties as a minister’s wife. At one point, she taught Sunday school, directed the children’s choir, was involved in several ladies circles and missions and held new member dinners at her home once a month while working full time as a school social worker. Truman passed away on August 20, 2008. JoAnn was a strong supporter of women’s equality and encouraged and worked for change in the status of women in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. An avid reader and letter writer, she maintained a strong interest in current events and political participation, encouraging all she met to remain vigilant in protecting civil liberties and personal freedom. She encouraged independent thought and debate on current issues of the day, engaging in lively discussion on the responsibilities of citizenship. Her career in social work in the public schools brought to her attention the issues attached to working women and the politics of race in America. She was known for being a tireless advocate for children and their families, and questioning and challenging any bureaucracy. One of her proudest moments was when a child she fought for,
sought her out as a young college student to thank her for believing in him. She made a difference, one child at a time, to make the world a better place.
She enjoyed art, music and gracious living. She loved to entertain using her vast collection of china and linens. She was a frequent visitor to the art museums and the symphony. History and current events were her passions and she read constantly and was known for having a house full of books.
She became a proponent for the rights and proper treatment of the mentally ill because of the illness of her son Jonathan, and was a compassionate caregiver to him until his death in 2003.
JoAnn is survived by four of her five children Stephen(Sylvia) Mohn, Ph.D., Elsa (Rick) Stazesky, Ph.D., Katharine (Carl) Kragh, and Monica Mohn, and four grandchildren, Tristan, Samuel, Deirdre and Drew Elizabeth. Her family and those close to her will remember her for her razor intelligence and uncompromising compassion, which she shared with her husband, for all living things. She will be buried at West St. Olaf Church in Hayfield, Minnesota next to her husband, Truman, and her son, Jonathan.
Funeral service Wednesday 2 PM, West St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Rural Hayfield, MN. Interment West St. Olaf Church Cemetery. Visitation Tuesday, 5-8 PM, Gill Brothers Southwest Chapel, 5801 Lyndale Ave. S.
GILL BROTHERS Minneapolis 612-861-6088
Doris Schnable of Bloomington surrendered her life to breast cancer on 8/16/10 after an eleven year battle, during which time she never lost her courage. She was 67 and loved and was loved by her family. She was preceded in death by her mother and father Mildred and William Seidt, late residents of Bechtelsville, PA, where Doris grew up, and great niece, Hailey Frame of Boyertown PA.
