Joan L. (Hanson) Oftedahl December 28, 1928 ~ June 11, 2014 Joan Lois Oftedahl was born December 28, 1928, in Hanley Falls, Minnesota to Oscar and Ebba (Rude) Hanson. She passed away June 11, 2014 at the Clarkfield Care Center at the age of 85. Joan graduated from Hanley Falls High School in 1946 and went on to college at St.Olaf College and Mankato State University. She then taught school in Luverne, Minnesota, for two years before returning home to Hanley Falls to marry Gene Oftedahl on June 17th, 1950. Joan was baptized and married at Yellow Medicine Lutheran Church where she was an active member of the Ladies Aid and Bible Study groups. She taught school in Wood Lake after she was married until she and Gene started a family, when she became a full time Mom. Joan cooked many meals for many people for many years. The dinner table was always full of kids and friends and hired hands. There were always fresh chocolate chip cookies for dessert or perhaps something made with rhubarb. Joan was an excellent seamstress and spent many hours sewing clothes for her immediate and extended family members. She would sew curtains for neighbors and fancy pajamas for nieces and lovely dresses for herself and outfits for her children. She also knitted many pairs of winter mittens for grandchildren and others. She loved having morning coffee with a group of Hanley Falls women who took turns going to each other's homes. She and Gene were avid bowlers and Joan loved to play any card game, especially Bridge. In 1967, Joan returned to school by becoming a member of the charter class of Southwest Minnesota State College in Marshall. She earned a teaching degree and became a Headstart teacher in Clarkfield. After she retired from full time teaching, she was a substitute teacher for many years. In 1991, Gene and Joan bought a house on Minnesota Avenue in Granite Falls. Joan loved living in town where the grandkids could go to her house after school before dance or sports practice. She often made BBQs for supper and had a well-stocked candy drawer, to the delight of the grandkids. Joan loved the Twins and often took grandchildren to a Twins game on the Community Ed bus. She loved travel in general and made it her goal to visit all 50 states, something she accomplished with great joy. She also loved to spend time at Norway Lake, where she and Gene had a camper. In 2008, for a few short months, Joan moved back to Hanley Falls where she could see the YML Church outside her window. By then Alzheimer's Disease was taking hold, and she could not have lived there as long as she did without the support of many friends in the Hanley Falls community giving her a hand and watching out for her, as well as the support of the Living at Home/Block Nurse Program of Granite Falls. In May of 2009, it was time for Joan to move to a place where she could get more care, and she became a resident of the Clarkfield Care Center. The wonderful and loving staff at the care center helped create numerous moments of joy for Joan's last five years. Joan never lost her basic kindness and cheerful ways. She was always up for a cup of a coffee and was able to read out loud to people right to the end. She was loved by many, especially by her husband Gene. They were married for 64 years. Joan lived a full and rich life, loving God and her family and friends. Joan is survived by her husband, Wayne Eugene "Gene" Oftedahl; her children: Wayne, Julie, Tom and Mark, all of Hanley Falls: Wayne and Bonnie Oftedahl, Julie and Elmo Volstad, Tom and Julie Oftedahl, Mark and Laura Oftedahl; her 12 grandchildren: Wendy (Anton) Towne, Sara (Roy) Gjerde, Josephine (Charles) Scoville, Audrey Ludwig, Augusta Volstad, Emma (Daryl) Gregoire, Tomas Volstad, Laura Oftedahl, Ashley (Zach) Jorgenson, Nick Risacher, Kyle Oftedahl, and Holly Oftedahl; and her 11 great grandchildren: Xavier, Zachary, Gavyn and Sydney Towne; Hadley, Aksel, and Sena Gjerde; Stella and Harvey Scoville; and Addyson and Harper Jorgenson. She was preceded in death by her four siblings: Ruby, Edna, Vernon and Myrtle. In Loving Memory of Joan L. Oftedahl Visitation Monday, June 16, 2014 ~ 9:00-10:00 a.m. Yellow Medicine Lutheran Church, Hanley Falls, Minnesota Funeral Service Monday, June 16, 2014 ~ 10:00 a.m. Yellow Medicine Lutheran Church, Hanley Falls, Minnesota Clergy Officiating, Pastor Steve Quist Scripture Readings Ephesians 4: 29-32 1 Thessalonians 5: 13-18 Mark 12: 28-31 Readers Wendy Towne Josephine Scoville Audrey Ludwig Organist, ZeeAnn Reishus Congregational Hymns "Amazing Grace" "Beautiful Savior" Special Music Elmo Volstad, Augusta Volstad and Emma Gregoire "Borning Cry" and "Softly and Tenderly" Elmo Volstad and Joan's Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren "What A Friend We Have in Jesus" Casket Bearers Anton Towne ~ Roy Gjerde Daryl Gregoire ~ Tomas Volstad Zach Jorgenson ~ Nick Risacher ~ Kyle Oftedahl Final Resting Place East Yellow Medicine Lutheran Cemetery Hanley Falls, Minnesota Arrangements by Lynner Funeral Home Since 1891 Clarkfield Minnesota