Joanne Lee Edelmaier
December 31, 1933 - July 25, 2026
Joanne passed away peacefully of heart failure on July 25th, 2026, at Foothill Village Senior Living in Angels Camp, CA where she lived for the last three years.
Joanne was born to Herbert Leroy and Leona Elizabeth (Niebaum) Meier on December 31, 1933, in Fremont, NE. Joanne is survived by her brother Ken Meier, daughter Denise, her husband Bill, sons David and Randy, and their wives Melanie and Jenny. Joanne is survived by 5 grandchildren: Claire, Caroline, Sarah, Benjamin, and Nathan. She also had 2 step grandchildren: Michele Cornejo who has three children, Mikayla, Gabriel, and Isaiah and step grandchild Sarah deAquinos. Joanne was preceded in death by her husband Alvin and her brother Duane.
Joanne was a beautiful intelligent accomplished woman always an active leader in her communities and in the Lutheran church. Even as a young girl growing up on farms in rural Nebraska, she was active in 4H, Girl Scouts and Luther League. She had a natural gift and talent for music and played piano and flute. Joanne graduated from Hooper NE High School in 1951 where she was a Cheerleader, member of the Band, Chorus, Glee Club and President of her HS National Honor Society. She was chosen to attend Girls State in Lincoln, NE, chosen ''Queen for a Day'' out of 4000 entries at Skip Day in Storm Lake, IA and she was Salutatorian of her class. She earned a music scholarship to Midland College in Fremont NE where she attended for one year.
On February 22, 1953, she married Alvin Edelmaier at Grace Lutheran Church, Hooper, NE. And from then on, she was devoted to her husband's career with the Union Pacific Railroad and raising three children who were her pride and joy. Alvin and Joanne lived in Omaha NE until 1991 when they retired and built a home in Boston Yale Ranch, Mokelumne Hill, CA where they lived together for 32 years. Joanne joined many organizations in retirement including Questors, Wanna be Quilters, Newcomers, Merigold Garden Club and Amador Ham Radio Club. For many years she was a volunteer for Mark Twain Hospital in San Andreas, CA, where she created quilts for donation. Joanne and her husband Alvin were active members of the Lutheran Church their entire lives. Joanne was also a member of the Friendship Chapter Eastern Star for 65 years. She had many friends.
Joanne was always happy and busy with her hobbies of music, genealogy, reading about history, scrapbooking, gardening, antiques, quilting, knitting, needlepointing, etc. She believed idle hands were evil hands. Joanne at 92 would tell you she had lived a fulfilling life. Her Lutheran faith was her foundation, and her motto was ''TRUST IN THE LORD''. She had a smile that would light up a room.
Joanne's Celebration of Life service will be Oct. 9th, 2026, 11am at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hooper NE. Interment will be at Hooper Cemetery next to her husband of 70 years. In lieu of flowers memorials will be donated to the American Heart Association. Prior services were held on Sat. Aug. 29th, 2026, 11am at Daneri Mortuary in Jackson CA.
Ludvigsen's Hooper Funeral Chapel in charge of arrangements. Online guestbook at www.Ludvigsenmortuary.com
Obituary Provided By:
1249 E. 23rd St.
Fremont, NE 68025
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