Obituaries

Joanne Miriam Vercler Niswander, 93, of Bluffton passed away on October 8, 2022. Joanne was born September 24, 1929 on a farm in Meadows, Illinois to the late Elmer and Naomi (Claudon) Vercler.  Joanne graduated from Chenoa High School in Chenoa, Illinois and Bluffton College.

She met Dean Niswander at Bluffton College and they married on August 20, 1950.  She and her husband Dean lived in Bluffton where they enjoyed raising their six children, were active with the community, church, and school.  In 1964 they moved to Okemos, Michigan. While there, Joanne was a secretary at Okemos schools, and later served as secretary to Lansing District Superintendent of the United Methodist Church. In 1976, they moved to Gibsonburg, Ohio where Joanne was a docent at the Toledo Museum of Art until 1990.  In 1991, Dean and Joanne moved back to Bluffton where they both volunteered for Bluffton College, traveling across the country as Alumni Ambassadors for nine years.  They were honored as Outstanding Alumnus/Alumna of Bluffton College in 1996 and received the first Ray Ramseyer Philanthropy Award in 2003.