Joan DeWitt
Joan Marie DeWitt, 89, of Spirit Lake, passed away Sunday, July 26, 2020, at Lawton Senior Living Care facility.
Service were at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 31 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spirit Lake, with the Rev. Paul Kelly officiating. Burial was in St. Margaret’s Cemetery. Turner Jenness Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. For more information, visit www.turnerfuneralhomes.com
Joan Marie DeWitt was born Jan. 14, 1931, in Sioux City to Peter and Mary (Thomas) Bennett. She grew up in Sioux City and attended St. Boniface Grade School as well as Cathedral High School, where she graduated in 1948.
Joan married William “Buck” DeWitt on March 3, 1952. They raised six children with strong faith in the Lord and a firm focus on family.
Joan and Buck raised their children in Red Oak, Iowa, and in 1997 they retired to Spirit Lake. Joan always loved family gatherings, which in her later years, she centered mostly around fun at the lakes. Family Christmas celebrations soon transitioned from December to July at the lake (for obvious reasons) when all her family could be together.
Joan enjoyed reading, playing piano, sewing, making dolls, playing bridge and discussing current events.
Joan became known as Mimi to her precious grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she cherished the time she spent with them.
Most evenings, you could find Joan on her porch enjoying the simple pleasures of sunsets, hummingbirds, and sail boats floating by on Big Spirit, while listening to the many conversations of her loved ones and sharing her thoughts with them.
She had great wisdom, and we were blessed to have learned so much from her.
Left to treasure her memory are her beloved sister, Mary Ann (Dee) and her husband, Dennis Metcalf of Castle Rock, Colo.; three daughters, Chris (Chuck) Hoelker and Ann (Kurt) Nash, all of Kingsley, and Ellen DeWitt of Spirit Lake; three sons, Bill (Katie) DeWitt of Shoreview, Minn., Joe (Cyndi) DeWitt of New Braunfels, Texas, and Peter (Amy) DeWitt of Minnetonka, Minn.; 11 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, William “Buck” DeWitt; and her brother, Pat Bennett.
In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spirit Lake.
