Joanne Wilma Groen

Joanne W. Groen age 63 of Chandler, MN died Friday, March 12, 2010 at the Hospice Cottage n Luverne, MN. Services will be held 10:00 AM Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at the Chandler Reformed Church. Visitation will be from 4:00 until 7:00 PM Monday, March, 15, 2010 at the Chandler Funeral Chapel and continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. A luncheon will be served in the church immediately after the service. Interment will take place later this spring. The Chandler Funeral Association is handling the arrangements. Joanne Wilma Groen was born February 7, 1947 to John and Johanna (Ruiter) Bothof on a farm near Chandler, MN. She was baptized and professed her faith in the Reformed Church and attended most of her early elementary school in Worthington, MN. While in the sixth grade, her family moved to Slayton, MN, where she graduated from Slayton High School in 1965. Two days after her high school graduation on May 29, 1965, Joanne married John Henry Groen. They made their home on the family farm about five miles south of Chandler, where they dairy farmed together for over forty years. After raising her children, according to Joanne, “you can only go to coffee so much”, so she sold Pampered Chef products for about five years and also worked at the Pipestone FSA office part-time for several years, until her four grand daughters came to live with them. She was an active member of the Chandler Reformed Church where she taught Sunday School, Bible School and catechism. She was also a member of the Women’s Guild. In her spare time she loved reading Christian fiction books, attending her children’s and grandchildren’s activities, as well as, attending Southwest Christian basketball games. Her greatest joy in life was her love for the Lord, her family and grandchildren. In October of 2008, Joanne was diagnosed with brain cancer and on April 28, 2009 she became a resident of the Hospice Cottage in Luverne, MN, where she died Friday, March 12, 2010 at the age of 63. Joanne is survived by her husband, John Henry Groen of Chandler, MN; two sons, John Groen of Helena, MT and Jason Groen of Phoenix, AZ; two daughters, Jolene Groen and Julie (Jim) Sherman, both of Sioux Falls, SD; five grandchildren, Clarissa, Chelsey, Cassandra and Chantel Groen and Lincoln Sherman; her parents, John and Johanna Bothof of Slayton, MN; mother-in-law, Mary Groen of Leota, MN; three brothers, Delwin Bothof of Cleveland, OH, John (Debra) Bothof of Omaha, NE and Kenneth (Kari) Bothof of Green Bay, WI; two sisters, Harlene (Richard) Meyer of Belle Vista, AR and Eloise (Malcolm) Nord of Atlanta, GA; nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends. Her grandparents and father-in-law, Henry Groen, preceded her in death.