RIESSEN, JoAnn (1938-2020)

RIESSEN

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 1/28/2021 at 15:46:30

Jo Ann Riessen
(December 16, 1938 – December 12, 2020)

BATTLE CREEK – Private family graveside services for Jo Ann Riessen, 81, of Battle Creek were held in Mount Hope Cemetery at Battle Creek with the Rev. Randy Cormeny officiating. Celebration of Life will be at a later date. Christensen-Van Houten Funeral Home in Battle Creek was in charge of arrangements.
Jo Ann Riessen, daughter of Walter and Fern (Hansen) Riessen, was born at home Dec. 16, 1938. She was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Battle Creek. Jo Ann was raised on the family farm southeast of Battle Creek and attended Battle Creek Community School through the eighth grade. She had been a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church while living in Mapleton and, at the time of her death, was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Battle Creek. In the early ‘70s, Jo Ann moved to Mapleton where she met her partner in life, Francis Burkhart, whom she lost to illness in 1998. She worked in various restaurants and helped serve meals at the Community Center in Mapleton. Jo Ann survived the Mapleton tornado of April 2011. However, her home was destroyed during the storm. Wanting to remain in Mapleton, she purchased another home, where she resided for several years before declining health led her to move to Willow Dale Wellness Village in Battle Creek. She died Dec. 12, 2020, at Horn Memorial Hospital in Ida Grove, following a brief illness.
Left to cherish her memory are her sister, Lois Jensen, and a brother, Ronald Riessen, both of Battle Creek; and numerous nieces and nephews and their families. Jo Ann was preceded in death by her partner of 25 years, Francis Burkhart; her parents, Fern and Walter Riessen; a sister, Alberta Reitz; two brothers-in-law: Marvin Jensen and Raymond Reitz; and a sister-in-law, Sheryll Riessen.
Sources: Ida County Courier, Ida Grove, Iowa, Tues., Dec 15, 2020 and Christensen-VanHouten Funeral Services, Ida Grove, Iowa at http://www.christensenvanhouten.com/