Joan Koestner

Joan Marie Koestner, age 87, went home to the Lord on December 5th, 2019.
Joan Marie Koestner was born on September 16, 1932 in Snow Shoe, Pennsylvania, to Von and Helen Johnson. She graduated from Snow Shoe High School as Valedictorian and attended Penn State University @ Altoona where she got her bachelors degree in horticulture. It was at Penn State where she met her sweetheart Jim Koestner. Their marriage began in June 1955 and it lasted for over 64 years.  In 1955 Jim joined the Air Force and they began their life together as an USAF family. They raised five children and traveled to many states as a family including Georgia, Florida, Texas, California and and lastly Northern Michigan where Jim retired from the Air Force in 1979. In 1999 they left Northern Michigan and headed south to Grove, Oklahoma for warmer weather.
Joan was the heart and soul of the family. She greatly enjoyed her children and grandchildren and had a special relationship with all of them. She loved to cook and entertain and had an infectious smile that lit up the room.  Joan, while in Michigan, was a member of the K.I. Sawyer MI Lions Club.  She volunteered at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Gwinn, MI and St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Grove, OK and was a Eucharistic minister for both churches.  Joan’s hospitality extended to every day life where she had a compassionate heart, patience and attentive ear for everyone she encountered. She was loved by all who knew her and her legacy will live on in all of us.
Joan is survived by her husband Jim Koestner and her children, Ernie, Carolyn, Carl, and Mary. Grandchildren: Jennifer, Hollis, Mary, Elise, Matthew, Adam, Celise, Elizabeth, and Jon, and Great Grandchild Nora. She is preceded in death by her parents Von B. and Helen Johnson, brothers Don and Joe Johnson and her son Herman.
Her beautiful life will be forever missed by everyone she touched and her legacy will live on in all of us.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Joan M. Koestner to St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, 1653 113th Street N.W., Grove, OK 74344 or your Local Lions Club.
Mass will be held at Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church, Grove, OK on December 14th at 12:00 noon.