Joan Rozella (Payton) Vodehnal departed her worldly home on August 21, 2021 at age 79 from the Burwell Community Memorial Health Center.
Funeral services will be Friday, August 27, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at First Christian Church in Burwell. Burial will be in Cottonwood Cemetery in Burwell. Pastor JB Sikes and Pastor Julie Western will officiate. Visitation will be Thursday evening from 5pm-7pm at Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell. Memorial are suggested to the Burwell Ambulance Fund or the Burwell Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Joan was born August 7, 1942, the only child of Frank and Alma (Lewis) Payton, at Herman Nursing Home in Burwell. A picture of baby Joan in the current Burwell Museum, commemorates she was born in the building. Frank and Alma were living in South Dakota on the family farm at the time and Joan lived there until 1947 when the family returned to Taylor and Joan started school. Joan dropped an “n” from her given name, Joann, as a child when she was learning to write. She got to explain this to the Social Security folks 60 years later when they didn’t want to pay her. Being an only child, her Loup County Lewis Cousins were more like siblings and she remained close to them her entire life. She graduated from Loup County High in 1960.
Joan then attended the Grand Island School of Business. She lived with her high school pal Mary Bohy Smith in a house on 3rd street, which is still there today. She worked at First National Bank also on 3rd street while going to school. In June of 1961, Joan moved to Burwell and lived with the gals at Libby Mach’s boarding house. She later lived with Barbara Horak and Irma Alexander above Johnson’s Shoe Store. Joan started her career at the ASCS office in June of 1961. Through her co-worker, Dorothy Vodehnal, Joan met Ronald D Vodehnal. They were married September 1, 1963. They lived at the G Street trailer court when daughter Cindy Jo was born in 1964. They moved to an apartment a couple blocks down the street while their home at 934 H street was being built and they moved in June 1966. A son, Curt Dean, joined the family in 1971.
In 1973, due to government budget constraints, Joan was furloughed from the ASCS and worked for two months at Burwell Industries (aka the Curler Factory). She then transferred to the Ord ASCS office and worked there until 1978. She carpooled to Ord with her pal Marilyn Coleman. She returned to the Burwell ASCS office and worked there until 1991, for a total of 30 years. She enjoyed coffee break with her pals from the office, courthouse, city hall, and law office almost every work-day. Following her ASCS exit, Joan showed her skills as a jack of all trades. She worked as a maid at the Rodeo Inn, assistant to the County Assessor (Linda Heermann), a waitress at Maverick Truckstop, a clerk at Alderman Variety, assistant to the County Superintendent (Linda Kapke), secretary at Cass Construction, assistant to the County Treasurer (Linda Koeger), and kitchen help at the Burwell Nursing Home, until her health forced her to retire in 2009.
Joan attended the Assembly of God church in Taylor from youth through the 1980’s. She had a firm faith and love of Jesus and knew her Bible well. She loved attending Bible study in her senior years. She was baptized in a family service at the Burwell First Christian Church in 2007 although she was scared of water and had to be dunked twice.
Joan was a loyal supporter of her kid’s activities and served on almost every committee and attended every event they were involved with. She was a 4-H leader for over 15 years and was often involved with style review and song contest. She was a band and music booster, post prom committee member, registered speech contest judge, and was an expert fund raiser and party planner. She bowled for 22 years, many with the House of Fashion and Great Western Gas teams and won numerous trophies. The Vodehnals took a family vacation every year until 2015. Joan was the map reader and was very disgusted she could no longer do this when her eyesight failed. She was still able to criticize everyone’s driving, however. She took her first and only plane ride in 1995 when the family flew to Florida. On the 2014 vacation to South Dakota, she broke her ankle and walked on it an entire day before stopping at a hospital. Joan and the family dressed 100 chickens every summer for over 20 years. Joan loved playing cards with Janiceks and Conners back in the day. She liked touring downtown Grand Island and stopping at Coney Island for coney dogs and malts. She served in the Loup Valley After 5 Christian Women’s group, the Loup County Alumni Committee, and church workers society. She loved going to the beauty salon each week to get her hair done since the 1970’s. She was a loyal family member, attending as many family events as possible including every Lewis Family reunion since 1989. She was an avid fan of PRCA rodeo, Husker football and volleyball, casino slot machines, The Statler Brothers, Judge Judy, Jeopardy. She watched many hours of Family Feud. She loved her family and her grand-dogs!
Joan was a medical wonder, surviving at least three heart attacks, quadruple bypass, blindness due to strokes in her eyes in 1985 and 2000, diabetes since 2008, a massive stroke in 2009, and dementia. She faced every trial with determination, never complaining, always saying things could be worse.
Joan was preceded in death by her parents, 45 aunts and uncles, several cousins, her HOF bowling team, members of her coffee club, her walking buddy Marilyn Clabaugh, and other pals.
She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Ron of Burwell, daughter and son-in-law, Cindy and Mark States of Burwell, son, Curt Vodehnal of Grand Island, sister-in-law Dorothy Vodehnal, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Robert and Annette Vodehnal, Vodehnal nieces and nephews, Lewis and Payton family cousins, grand-dogs and many friends.
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