Joann Creese

Joann Creese was born February 12, 1931, in Grandpa and Grandma’s house in Charter Oak, Iowa. She was a life-time member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Charter Oak. Joann was baptized there March 22, 1931, confirmed there April 2, 1944, and married there October 19, 1952, to LeVerne Creese.
Joann attended school at St. John’s Parochial Lutheran School while living with her grandparents, Carl and Louise Hiller for eight years. She graduated from Charter Oak High School in 1948. Her first job was at Hoefers Hardware when she was 15 years old as a bookkeeper and clerk before and after school until 1950 when she began working at Farmers State Bank and became assistant cashier.
Joann and LeVerne Creese were married October 19, 1952, at St. John’s. LeVerne was inducted into the Army April 6, 1953, and did his Basic Training at Camp Pickett, Virginia, where Joann joined him and then to Fairbanks, Alaska. While there, Joann worked for Bank of Fairbanks as a savings teller and took care of the daily mail. This was before Alaska was a state of the United States. They returned to Iowa in April 1955 and moved onto the farm they lived on the rest of their life – 58 years it was their home. She worked side by side with LeVerne on that farm and the next farm west of them that they purchased in 1969, feeding cattle and hogs, walking beans, etc. and kept the farm books. Joann worked for the Mapleton Sale Barn in the 1970's, six years in the office. They raised two daughters, Linda Jo and Sherri Lee, who were also baptized, confirmed and married at St. John’s. The girls were active in 4-H and Charter Oak School, keeping them all busy. Each year they took a vacation and traveled from the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States, Canada several times, Alaska and Mexico visiting friends they had made while in the service.
St. John’s has always been her church. Worked at many funerals, for meals and also as a greeter, etc. Joann was a member of the Willow Modern Homemakers Club for over 30 years and also on the Crawford County Extension Home and Family Committee. She worked with LeVerne for the Community Club when they first started the annual sale in February and on election day for Charter Oak Township and also wrote up the minutes for the Triple Medical Center. She always said her grandchildren were the “funnest” thing that ever happened to them and they were usually at all their school and 4-H functions and now the great-grandchildren. Joann moved to an apartment in Denison in 2012 and made weekly visits to the farm.
Joann was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, LeVerne in 2010. Survivors include two daughters: Linda and her husband, Mark,and Sherri and her husband, Kevin; six grandchildren: Seth and his wife, Jennifer; Nathan and his wife, Ashley; Melissa, Terrin, Kenzie and Kobe; eight great-grandchildren: Taytem, Jonah, William, Peyten, Rocky, Kaylin, Vienna, and Jase; one brother, Curt and his wife, Joyce, and one sister,Myra and her husband, Ray; brothers in-law: Orlen and his wife,Phylliss and Elwin; many other relatives and friends.