Joan Spaeth

This is the story of Joan Christine (Olson) Spaeth. Joan was a one of kind person that was loved, is missed, and will always be cherished.  Joan was an amazing wife, mom, daughter, and friend who left an imprint on everyone she encountered. She will forever be remembered as the sunshine in our life.

Joan’s story starts on July 16, 1966 as the middle daughter of three for Roger and Charlotte (Belland) Olson. She was born in St. Paul, MN and was baptized and confirmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in White Bear Lake where she lived until 7th grade when her family moved to Benson, Minnesota.  Joan attended Benson High School where she was active in marching band and was number one singles in tennis before graduating in 1984.  After high school, she attended Canby Community College where she received a degree in dental assisting.  While there, her life changed forever when she met Tom Spaeth. After dating only a short while they quickly fell in love and became engaged. They were married a year later on November 23, 1985 at St. Francis Catholic Church in Benson.

Joan and Tom started out their young married life in Minneota and didn’t waste any time to start their family. They welcomed their beautiful daughter Christine (Spaeth) Selinski in August of 1986. Joan and Christine had a wonderful relationship, shared in many life experiences, talked daily on the phone, and were just as much best friends as they were mother and daughter. In November 1989 they grew their family once again by welcoming their son, Bryant. Bryant was the son they always wanted, a momma’s boy with a caring, loving heart and a passion for bringing joy to others just like his mother.

In 1991, after moving all over Minnesota, Joan and her family found their true home in Morris, MN where Tom and Joan spent the rest of their time together.

Joan had a passion for her career and was always looking for ways to use her many talents. Whether it was at Morris Dental Clinic and The Dental Depot or working at the University of Minnesota Morris, her career brought her close to so many people within the community.  Joan’s most recent and fulfilling position was at Riverview, LLP, where she was the Director of Talent Acquisitions and was responsible for recruiting passionate employees, attending job fairs across the country to help inspire students to find their own passions, and leading the internship program.  In addition to her career, Joan was extremely active in her community. She was a joyous member of the Assumption Catholic Church where she had served as a Eucharistic Minister and she and Tom were involved in pre-marriage counseling sessions.  She was a Morris Chamber Board Member and was extremely active with Pay It Forward and the Life Care Pregnancy Center.  Joan also was involved in starting the “Fall into Health” event, during her employment at SCMC in Morris and brought in many of the speakers, whom she ultimately befriended and had ongoing communications with. Anywhere there was an opportunity for Joan to impact and guide people to find their true passions and happiness was where she wanted to be.

To Joan, family and God were most important.  She had a huge heart and was always giving to others.  She loved people and was known for building friendships with complete strangers. Often times, these friendships became life-long.  Joan also enjoyed entertaining and hosting parties. She had an eye for fashion and loved shopping with a special love of shoes.  She enjoyed a good wine and sharing her knowledge of wine with everyone.  Joan loved traveling with Tom and with her family. Some of her favorite trips were to Spain, St. Anne, De Beupre in Quebec, Canada, California wine and Florida.  Joan also enjoyed attending musicals with her daughter Christine, traveling for work, counseling young students, getting her hair done at Aveda in Minneapolis and watching cheesy love movies on the Hallmark Channel.  Most importantly, Joan held her family close and cherished every minute with them. One of her greatest joys was becoming a grandmother, first to Carson, and most recently to her first granddaughter, Penelope Lou.

Joan died on Sunday, December 1, 2019 at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota surrounded by family.  She was 53 years old.

Joan is survived by her husband of 34 years, Tom of Morris; daughter, Christine (Logan) Selinski of Champlin; son, Bryant of St. Paul; grandchildren: Carson Waldvogel and Penelope Selinski; parents: Roger and Char Olson of Benson; sisters: Susan (Terry) Heidelberger of Villard and Jill (Casey) Marczak of Hancock; parents-in-law: Wilfred and Theresa Spaeth of Morgan; brothers-in-law: Gary (Sandy) Spaeth, Ron Spaeth, Larry (Brandy) Spaeth, Ken (Tina) Spaeth, and Kevin (Kari) Spaeth; sisters-in-law: Laurie (James) Sander, Sandy Snyder, Lisa (Todd) Stalter, and Amy Spaeth; and many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

Loved ones that cleared the path for Joan are her grandparents Joseph and Josephine Belland and Ingaveld and Ida Olson.

Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris, is in charge of arrangements for Joan.  To send condolences to the family, on-line, visit our website at www.pedersenfh.com

And so the story goes on until we see Joan again. We love you and miss you…

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, MEMORIALS ARE PREFERRED TO THE FAMILY WHO WILL BE MAKING DONATIONS TO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS IN JOAN'S MEMORY.