Dorothy "Joan" Bibelhausen

Joan Bibelhausen
Joan Bibelhausen, 83, of Eau Claire, WI died peacefully on Saturday, August 22, 2015, at Cerenity Senior Care in St. Paul surrounded by family.
Dorothy Joan Hawkens was born on September 15, 1931, in Pepin, Wisconsin to Leo and Dorothy (Brunner) Hawkens. They moved to Tarrant in the town of Lima, Pepin County, where her parents operated Brunner Store. After graduating from Sacred Heart Catholic School in Lima, she attended college for one year. Joan went on to graduate as an RN from the Luther Hospital School of Nursing in 1954. Her training included a 6 month affiliation at Cook County School of Nursing, Chicago, IL, in 1953.
Joan was baptized at the Catholic church in Alma and later attended Holy Rosary Church, Lima. After marriage she was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, Eau Claire. She later attended services at North Presbyterian Church.
Joan worked in the Obstetrics department at Luther Hospital for almost 30 years, retiring in 1994. Her favorite area was caring for mothers who were hospitalized due to pre-term labor. She also taught prenatal classes for many years. She touched the lives of many new families.
Joan was treasurer for the Luther Alumni Assoc. She maintained the mailing list, organized the annual banquet and sold everything from tote bags to wrapping paper to fund the association. She was a member of the Chippewa Valley Stamp Club and held season tickets to the Chippewa Valley Symphony.
Joan enjoyed sewing, various crafts, water aerobics classes, gardening and especially her wildflowers. She was a Brownie, Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader. When her first grandchild was born prematurely she created a pattern and sewed clothing so he would have something to wear. She also provided outfits for some preemies born at Luther. The sewing continued with the mastery of her new serger and hundreds of beautiful clothing pieces for her grandchildren, their dolls and stuffed animals.
Survivors include her sister, Mary Lee Apka of San Diego; children, Joan (Neal Dimick) Bibelhausen, of Mpls, Peter (Jackie) Bibelhausen of Minnetonka, Amy (Lee) Marsh of Eau Claire; and grandchildren, Peter Bibelhausen, Katy and John Dimick, Beth (Esteban) Bergman, and Dustin Marsh.
She was preceded in death by her parents; half-brother, Leo R. Hawkens; her dear Schatze and former husband, Peter R. Bibelhausen.
Special thanks to her devoted friend and nursing school roommate, Carol Osteboe and her caretakers at Cerenity.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials to the Alzheimer's Association http://www.alz.org, sponsorship or participation in your local Walk to End Alzheimer's, the L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library Endowment or "In Honor Of" funds http://www.ecpubliclibrary.info, or an organization of your choice.
A memorial gathering will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at The Center, 3701 E. Clairemont Ave., Eau Claire. A celebration service will take place at 3 p.m.