Joann R. Foiles, 88

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Joann Ruth Foiles, 88, of Shipman, died Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019, at her home. 

Visitation will be held Wednesday, Dec. 4, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church in Shipman.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. at the church with Pastor John Lottes officiating. Burial will follow in Shipman Cemetery.

Mrs. Foiles was born Aug. 9, 1931, in Plainview, the daughter of the late Joseph and Viola (Bullman) Hackney. She married Quentin Foiles on Sept. 3, 1948, in Gillespie, and he preceded her in death on Feb. 5, 2009.

In 1950, she and her husband moved to what is now Rutherford Road. She was told that their marriage would never last due to her young age, but their marriage lasted 60-plus years.

A current member of the Zion Lutheran Church in Shipman, she was a past member of the Ladies ATA organization in Shipman.

Her life revolved around the family farm, work, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and more work. She planted and harvested her last garden this past summer. She attended a great-grandchild's birthday party the day before her passing.

She enjoyed hosting family holiday meals on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas for years, insisting on preparing the whole meal by herself. She was a master at preparing the correct amount of food for 50 to 70 people for the noon and evening meal, with only minimal leftovers at the end of the day.

Up until the last few months of her life, she always had homemade ice cream in the freezer and supplied homemade ice cream for all the family birthday parties. She wore out multiple White Mountain ice cream freezers over her lifetime.

She led a very efficient and organized life with a purpose in mind for each day that she woke up. She was the farm's bookkeeper until the last two years of her life. 

She passed away in the same kitchen where she had spent countless hours preparing meals for family, friends and farmhands.

She is survived by her six children, Nathan (Vicki) Foiles of Raymond, Renee (Danny) Childress of Brighton, Yvonna (Dave) Hartman of Brighton, Duff (Cathy) Foiles of Plainview, Lindy (Bob) Tarrant of Brighton and Valerie (Chris) Stutz of Dorsey; 23 grandchildren; 63 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Mae Foiles of Shipman and Josephine Johnson of Edwardsville; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two sisters, Melba Fensterman and Lola Fritz; daughter-in-law, Paula Foiles; brothers-in-law, Rolla Fensterman, Bud White, Don Fritz, Donald Johnson, John Johnson and Robert Foiles; and sister-in-law, Wanda Johnson.