JoAnn Bargenquast

JoAnn Bargenquast was born on May 27, 1951, to Arthur and Adeline Maxwell in Harlan. She was welcomed home by three older siblings, Cathy, Pam and Jon. Two more siblings followed JoAnn, Julie and Mark. JoAnn was baptized as an infant in Harlan at the United Methodist Church. On Wednesday, July 3, 2024, she chose to be Baptized again out of obedience to her Lord and Savior, Jesus. She attended grade school and graduated from Harlan Community in 1969. After high school, she attended Iowa Western to become a dental assistant. On March 28, 1970, JoAnn was united in marriage to Merlin Wayne Bargenquast at the United Methodist Church in Harlan. They started out in Harlan but soon found their home in rural Shelby and eventually purchased an 80 acre farm where they farmed corn and beans until 2016 when they entered their farm ground into the CRP42 program. Together they had 2 children, Jason and Heidi. JoAnn held many jobs throughout the years and formed many lifelong relationships both at work and through her many activities. She would be most recognized for her 26 years as a dental assistant at Markham Family Dental. She also worked for Dr. Boltinghouse, Shelby Te...[more]

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nt Community Schools, FarmTable Procurement and Delivery, as a Shaklee Distributor, as a farming partner, and most notably a mother. JoAnn was a lifelong blood donor, an active member of the Shelby County Republicans, participated in Friends of Prairie Rose, and worked as a Precinct Election Official. JoAnn loved gardening, fishing, cooking, baking and canning. She was always looking to try new recipes and test them out on Mert. Mert misses her homemade bread. Her garden provided her with many vegetables over the years to can and freeze. Camping was probably her most favorite activity. Mert and Jo spent 29 years traveling to Wyoming to camp for the month of July. It started out as tent camping but then they bought a fifth wheel to make the trip a little more comfortable. JoAnn's favorite spot in Wyoming was off trail 159 west of Sheridan in the Big Horn Mountains. JoAnn passed away at home after a hard fought 11-month battle against ovarian cancer. Mert, Jason and Heidi were with her. She was preceded in death by her father Art, father-in-law Otto Bargenquast, and mother-in-law Celia Bargenquast. She is survived by her husband of 54 years Mert Bargenquast of Shelby, Iowa; son, Jason (Brenda) Bargenquast of Grandville, Michigan, daughter Heidi (Paul) Maiefski of Nevada, Iowa; 7 grandchildren Jackson Bargenquast of Grandville, Michigan, Shelby (Andrew) Lohman of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, Jonathan Bargenquast of Grandville, Michigan, Isabelle (Charlie) Hoekema of Holland, Michigan, Taylor, Gage, and Brody Maiefski all of Nevada, Iowa; 2 great grandsons; mother Adeline Maxwell of Harlan, Iowa; siblings Cathy (the late Darryl) Johannsen of Harlan, Pam (Larry) Scott of Missouri, Jon (Debbie) Maxwell of Montana, Julie (Tim) Hodapp or Missouri, and Mark (Kris) Maxwell of Harlan; sister in law Pam (Mark) Allen of Shelby and brother in law Gene (Sue) Bargenquast of Colorado, many nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends. JoAnn's Celebration of Life will be on Friday, July 19 at 11am with a visitation to greet family starting at 10am. A luncheon will be help after the service concludes. All events will be held at Fresh Encounter Church 1003 Tarkington St. Harlan, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Fresh Encounter Church Building Fund.