Joan L. Bemiller, 72, died at her home in Bluffton,on Monday, April 22, 2013. She had lived in Mansfield for over 47 years and recently moved to Bluffton.
She was born in Urbana on May 12, 1940 to the late Paul and Mildred Pence. She was a 1958 graduate of Urbana High School and graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in 1961. She married James Bemiller that same year and they moved to Mansfield in 1963. She worked at Winchester Nursing Home and Mansfield Memorial Homes as a charge nurse and as Assistant Director of Nursing. She later coordinated the Home Health Program at Memorial Homes.
Joan was very active in the Prospect School Mother’s Club and was a Girl Scout leader. She was a member of Copus Hill Model A Club and was involved in The Loss of Vision Support Group in Mansfield. She was a member of Waterford Church of Christ and recently attended St. John Mennonite Church near Bluffton.
Joan is survived by her husband, Jim, at home, and three children, James (Missy) Bemiller of Knoxville, Tenn., Jackie (Mark) Bourassa of Bluffton, and Julie (Steve) Grunewald of Freeport, Ill. Her nine grandchildren are Kelsey Kane and Gracie Bemiller, Jonah, Eli and Elizabeth Bourassa and Haley, Cassidy, Nicholas and Bentley Grunewald. She has a sister, Carole (Bob) Garrett of Springfield and a brother Roger (Jessica) Pence of Kissimmee, Florida. There are several nieces, nephews and cousins surviving.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, April 24, from 4-7 p.m. in St. John Mennonite Church, 15988 Road 4, Pandora, in the Fellowship Hall. A second visitation will be held Thursday, April 25, from 2-4 p.m. at Snyder Funeral Home, 2553 Lexington Avenue, Mansfield, where the funeral service will begin at 4 p.m. Ministers Ray and Don Lynn will officiate and burial will follow in Shauck Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Mennonite Home Health Services of Bluffton in care of the funeral home.
