Joan Elaine Biek Evans 1932-2019

It is with much sadness for all of us, but with joy for her, that we celebrate Joan’s graduation to the next life in the early morning hours just after Christmas following a stroke the day before. She died peacefully and without pain while holding her daughter’s hand. She had been surrounded by family and loved ones. This was truly her present, as she was ready to move on to continue exploring and learning and to be reunited with dear family members and friends in the next life.

Joan grew up on a farm near Warren, Illinois, the only child of Emil & Marie (Reed) Siedschlag. She was a lover of animals and nature, with a very smart pet dog and horse as her close companions. She once tied her little red wagon to a calf who ran right through her mom’s berry patch.

She has always had a strong commitment to religious living. She led an inspiring example of a life dedicated to the service of others. One could always count on her to be friendly, kind, patient, and accepting; a great listener and sincere friend to all. She went out of her way to help many people and they have expressed great debts of gratitude.

At age 26, following graduation from the Universities of Dubuque and Illinois (1958), she boarded a small freighter with her first husband, Ric, to cross the Atlantic to Ghana, W. Africa, with a 14-month daughter and a son on the way. She spent 11-years there as a missionary nurse and instructor. She caught tuberculosis working in the TB ward of Worawora Hospital and had to be isolated from her family for 6 weeks. The medication caused her to lose her third child and this was a very difficult experience for her. In 1969, they traveled through Europe for 3 months on their way back to Madison, WI, where she worked in Public Health Nursing, taught nursing, got her Masters studying the effects of alcoholic parents on children, and worked 18 years as a Nurse Consultant with the Wisconsin State Division for Handicapped Children. In 1988, she spent a year at the University of Washington in Seattle working toward a doctorate but had to return to care for her mother and was unable to complete it. She treasures the many friends she made there as in all her homes and travels.

Joan retired at age 64, moved to Boulder, CO and met and married Jerry Evans in 1998. They had a wonderfully loving and inspirational life together and were role models to many in their community with generous attitudes and adventurous interfaith service activities around the globe. This included a trip back to Ghana and to the Parliament of World Religions in Barcelona, Spain. Joan’s adventurous spirit led her to travel through most of western and northern Europe multiple times, to Canada, Hawaii, Israel, Egypt, Mexico, Ecuador, and New Zealand.

Feel free to email me at biek2005@msn.com 

David Biek