Joanne Marie Beach, 78, of West Point, Iowa passed away at 9:14 p.m. Friday, November 10, 2023 at her home surrounded by her family.

She was born on August 4, 1945 in Fort Madison, Iowa, the daughter of Mary (Peggy) Lampe & Lloyd Brown. She grew up in West Point, Iowa and graduated high school in 1963. After high school Joanne enrolled in the nursing program at the University of Iowa and graduated with her nursing degree in 1965.

Survivors include her two children: Mary Lou (Jeff) Birdsell of Montrose, Iowa and James Bechtel of West Point, Iowa; four grandchildren: Danielle (Ian) Kreps of Fort Madison, Iowa, Caleb Birdsell of Montrose, Iowa, Jessy (Billy) Foutch of Bushnell of Illinois, and April Birdsell of Good Hope, Illinois; five great grandchildren: Rhett, Finnley, Jace, Scarlett, and Remi; sister Sue (Tom) Newton of Iowa City, Iowa, and niece Laura (Adam) Kahler and children Owen, Mason, and Addy. She is also survived by several cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, stepfather Dale Turner, and sister Nancy Ratkowski.

Joanne began her nursing career at Sacred Heart Hospital in Fort Madison, she then changed directions and started to work in private practice for several doctors in West Point and Fort Madison. Eventually Joanne decided she wanted to work closer to home and she began working at the West Point Care Center. She was an excellent nurse and often received requests from family members to care for their loved ones.

Joanne married Ronald Bechtel in 1966 in West Point, they had two children together, they later divorced. Joanne married the love of her life Dick Beach on September 30, 1977. They met through mutual friends. She told her family that she had met her soulmate. Dick owned Beach Quarry, where she worked with Dick after she retired from nursing. They enjoyed each others company whether it was joy riding, fishing, gardening, or watching TV, as long as they were doing it together. Dick preceded her in death July 2009.

She had many interests in life including golf cart riding which was her favorite, reading, playing euchre especially when she was on the winning team, gardening, canning, and spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m.  Monday, November 13, 2023 at the Schmitz Funeral Home, West Point, Iowa.

The family will receive friends 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in West Point.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.

Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery.

Memorials have been established in her memory for St. Mary’s Catholic Church or Calvary Cemetery.

Schmitz Funeral Home of West Point is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.

Joan A. Jones, 77, of Mt. Pleasant, died Thursday, November 9, 2023 at her residence.

A private family service will be held.

A visitation will be held from 2-4 PM on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 N. Main St., Mt. Pleasant. The family will be present to receive friends at that time.

Joan was born July 13, 1946 In Iowa City, IA. She was the daughter of Lester Roy and June Emma (Fitch) Schmidt. She attended school in Coralville, IA. Joan was a longtime employee of the Alaniz Company in Mt. Pleasant. She operated her own daycare, caring not only for many children, but also for her own grandchildren. Joan later worked at Hy-Vee Food Store, from which she retired.

Joan loved to bake and was well known for her famous Chocolate-Chip cookies. Joan was dedicated to her grandchildren. She loved attending all the grandchildren’s sporting and music events.

Those thankful for sharing in Joan’s life include her 2 children – Tony (Kim) Wagenknecht of Mt. Pleasant and Jennifer Kimbrough of Pleasant Hill; 5 grandchildren – Justine, Ethan, Addison, Emma and Breleigh; 3 step grandchildren – Brooklyn, Darrick and Griffin and 1 great grandchild – Lennox.

Her parents and a brother, Steven Schmidt precede Joan in death.

Online condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfh.com

Donald Joseph “Don” Peck, 90, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on November 8, 2023.

A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating his life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, November 13, 2023 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in East Pleasant Plain, Iowa. Burial with military honors will be at the St. Joseph’s Church Cemetery. Visitation will be 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sunday, November 12^th at Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield. An additional visitation will be 9:30 a.m. until the time of the Mass on Monday at the church. Memorial contributions can be directed to the Saint Joesph’s Catholic Parrish in East Pleasant Plain, Iowa.

Don was born on December 22, 1932, the youngest of two children born to Myra (Kurtz) and Walter Peck of Pleasant Plain, Iowa. Don attended rural schools and graduated from Pleasant Plain High School in 1950. After high school Don stayed at home to help manage the family farm.  On August 1, 1953, Don married Dolores Supalla, his high school sweetheart. They made their home in Fairfield until Don was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1954. After basic training in Arkansas, they made their home on the military base in Texas. It was a union that gave them six children, eleven grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, five step-grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

After his service they purchased his grandparents Adam and Mary Peck’s farm where he had fond memories of his childhood years. The farm made the list of Century Farms in 2020, due to the pandemic, he received this award at the 2021 Iowa State Fair alongside his family. Don volunteered for many years driving the tractor pulled trolly at the state fair and enjoyed meeting different people.

Don was proud to be a part of Little League Baseball and coached his son’s teams for many years. In his later years Don enjoyed meeting his friends on Friday evening to play Snooker at the Eagles in Fairfield. He made efforts to keep the Fairfield Eagles open including hosting a band. When that Order closed, he transferred his membership to the Ottumwa Order where he continued to attend dances every Saturday night up to his death. Don was also a member of several other organizations throughout his lifetime, several being a member of the Cattlemen’s Association and the VFW.

He will be remembered as a man who worked hard for everything he had, a great dancer one that lived his life exactly the way he wanted, even if it wasn’t always at the approval of his family. He enjoyed farming and made it his life mission; it kept him physically fit and in good health. He was the first to offer his opinion to his children, their spouses and friends if he thought they needed to lose a few pounds or refrain from inhaling cigarettes.

Don was the dad and grandpa of Greg (Rosemary), Melissa (Seth VanSickel), Adam (Kassi), Jared (Kirsten); Karol (Greg Mauk), Steven (Kristin), and Renae; Marc (significant other Kathy Kleywegt), Nathan Fishback, Dustin, Devin and Caleb; Steve (significant other Barbara Adam); Scott (Michelle), Mitchell, Miles (Hailey) and Gena Peck Hodges. In addition, he had six step-grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and one on the way.

In addition, he leaves a brother-in-law Dick Supalla (significant other, Helen Twohig Zienkievicz); nieces, Laura (Jon Gilchrist), Julie (Dave Robaska), Lisa Maria Peck; and step-niece, Debbie Henderson; nephews, Brian Supalla, Michael Peck; and step nephew, John Henderson, plus many cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Larry; brother and sister-in-law, Gary and Sheryl Supalla; and step-grandson, Derek Hodges.

He will be greatly missed by his family and fur baby he referred to as Linny a/k/a Lenny.

The family would like to thank all the services that contributed to Don’s care, especially the Jefferson County Health Center and the University of Iowa Hospitals and family and friends for the support during this difficult time.

Online condolences may be made to Don’s family by viewing his obituary at www.behnerfh.com.