Joan Helen (Bokelmann) Reineke, 77

Joan Helen (Bokelmann) Reineke, age 77, of Owatonna, MN, passed away on February 20, 2023 at the Homestead Hospice House in Owatonna, surrounded by her family, after a long journey with Sjogren’s disease and brief battle with Lymphoma.

Funeral services will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, Owatonna on Friday, March 10, 2023 at 11 a.m. The Reverend Todd Buegler will officiate. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery, Morristown. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service at the church.

 Arrangements are being completed by Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault. 

Joan was born in Morristown, MN on February 17, 1946, to Albert and Helena (Geisler) Bokelmann. Growing up she helped take care of her younger siblings, played organ at church, participated in the school plays and enjoyed the lead role in “The Egg and I” her senior year. She graduated from Morristown High School in 1964. She went to work for Federated in Owatonna as a policy typist.

On August 12, 1967, Joan married her high school sweetheart, Stanley Roy Reineke, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Morristown. They started as friends during their junior play, and then Stanley asked her to accompany him to the after-play outing at a supper club in Medford, MN. The rest is history. They became engaged in 1965. Then in 1966, Stanley was drafted and deployed to an army base in Germany. Stanley came home on military leave in August 1967 to marry Joan. After a month of married bliss, Stanley returned to Germany and they could only correspond through letters until Joan visited in April of 1968. After traveling through Europe for a month, Joan returned to the U.S. and Stanley’s tour of duty was complete in June of 1968. Their union was blessed with four children, Sarah, Amy, Gretchen and Charles.

She focused her life on her family. She loved baking, cake decorating, gardening, traveling, fishing and quilting. While raising her children, she applied her artistic talents to baking and decorating countless cakes for confirmations, graduations and weddings. In later years, she found her love of quilting. Many people have been blessed with receiving her gift of quilting talent as her way of expressing love. She made each grandchild a lap quilt for graduation and a queen-size bed quilt for their wedding. She enjoyed traveling with Stanley to many places. Her favorite trip memory was to Europe and visiting her father’s family heritage farm in Germany, which is still in the family.

Joan is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, Stanley and their four children:  Sarah (Roberto) Tonizzo of Herndon, VA, Amy (Neil) Trygestad of New Prague, MN, Gretchen (Vern) Batton of Owatonna, MN, and Charles (Traci) Reineke of St. Michael, MN. Ten grandchildren: Adam Bulver, Elizabeth Bulver, Rachel (Damian) Breig, Georgia Trygestad, Chase Trygestad, Iris Trygestad, Courtney (Kyle) Landry, Matthew Russell, Paige Reineke and Gavin Reineke. Four great-grandchildren: Freya and Leo Breig, Bonnie and Joshua Landry. Brothers: Jerome (Dawn) Bokelmann and James (Nancy) Bokelmann. In-laws: Melodee Bokelmann, Melvin Reineke, Beverly Deming, Gloria (Steve) Seifert, Pam Reineke, Jim Gilbertson and many nieces and nephews.

Joan is preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Helena Bokelmann, sister Jane Gilbertson, brother John Bokelmann, father-in-law and mother-in-law Merle and Lorraine Reineke, in-laws Shelba Reineke, Phil Deming and Duane Reineke.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in honor of Joan can be made to the Homestead Hospice House, Owatonna.

Visit boldtfuneralhome.com for information and guestbook.

 

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