Juanita Donaville Carstens 1924 - 2019

CARSTENS, VETTER, MCCALMONT

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 12/30/2019 at 14:12:30

Sioux City Journal
22 September 2019

Sioux City

Juanita Donaville Carstens, 95, dancing queen, storyteller, and loving mother and grandmother, of Sioux City, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, surrounded with love at her residence.

Services to celebrate Juanita’s life and spirit were held at Waterbury Funeral Service in Sioux City.

Juanita Donaville Carstens, 95, was born May 20, 1924, in Somers, Iowa, to Cecilia (Vetter) and Donald Carstens, Juanita attended school and worked the first of many jobs near the Fort Dodge, Iowa area.

She married Melvin McCalmont, and they had four sons, Patrick (Diane), Michael, Brian, and Jimmy. They moved to Sioux City, where Juanita worked at multiple jobs including Zenith, St. Luke’s Hospital, Johnson Biscuit Company, and Rochester Products. She also worked as a dietician at Sunrise Retirement Community and was a banquet server at The Marina Inn.

Juanita loved to dance and tell stories and jokes, the naughtier the better. She enjoyed traveling and went on many adventures to see her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and was able to visit Germany and Central America. Back at home, she enjoyed going to the casino and the Senior Center under the guise of gambling or bingo so she could dress up in all her beaded and bedazzled clothes to visit with friends, stir up a little trouble, and raise some eyebrows. If it had rhinestones on it, she had to have it.

Juanita eventually met her final dance partner Ken Rosene, and they had many happy years until his death in 2012.

Juanita was so thankful for those that stopped by to visit her or help her in her final years, especially for the generosity of friends, Keith and Linda Iverson; the staff and volunteers from Meals on Wheels; and JoAnn from the Senior Center, who would bring her fresh vegetables, baked goods, and homemade crafts and share stories with her.

She is survived by her sons, Patrick (Diane) and Michael McCalmont; her grandchildren, Kym, Don, and Al; April and Tika; Thomas, Teresa, and Kelly; and her great-grandchildren, Sydney, Hannah, Emma, and Olivia; LeAnn and Jayce; April, Jessika, Rene, Ryan, David, Hannah and Eric; Brian, Andrew, and Julianna; Ruby and Violet; and Abbigail and Ally.

Juanita was preceded in death by her parents; siblings; sons, Jimmy and Brian; and her grandson, Matthew.