Joan Carolan, 89

April 15, 1932 —

Feb. 20, 2022

 

CRESCO - Joan (Kleve) Carolan, age 89, of Cresco, Iowa, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022 at Evans Memorial Home in Cresco. 

A Memorial Mass will be held on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at 11 a.m., at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Cresco, with Father Jacob Rouse officiating. Visitation will be held from 9-11 a.m. on Thursday, prior to the service. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Cresco.

Joan Marie Carolan was born on April 15, 1932, in Howard County. She was the daughter of Hugo and Mary (Wenthold) Kleve. She was a lifelong member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and attended St. Joseph’s School. 

On Oct. 11, 1950, she was united in marriage to Donald Carolan of Cresco. They started farming near Cresco and moved to Fort Sill, Okla. in 1952, when Don was drafted during the Korean Conflict. After discharge, they returned to Cresco and purchased a farm near Ridgeway, Iowa in 1956, where they lived until retirement in 1998. They donated the log cabin on the farm to the Howard County Historical Society, where it stands in Beadle Park today. 

Joan was a longtime member of the Howard County Historical Society, Notre Dame Parish, the Alter and Rosary Society and the American Legion Auxiliary.

Her love for baking and kolaches reaped her many awards and honors at the Howard and Winneshiek County Fairs. She enjoyed dancing, baking, genealogy, gardening, quilting, playing cards, crocheting her beautiful doilies, reading and playing the organ. 

Her true pride and joy were her grandchildren. Joan fulfilled one of her lifelong goals by obtaining her GED from the State of Iowa in 1989. 

Joan is survived by children, Rodney (Nancy) Carolan of Ridgeway, Kevin (Donna) Carolan of Calmar, Iowa and Sharon (Rick) Tlusty of Waseca, Minn.; grandchildren, Adam (Jen) Carolan, Nick (Elizabeth) Owings, Sean (Katie) Carolan, Laine (Jodi) Henning, Lynn (Karen) Henning, Sara (Sean) Malone, Michael (Lena) Corlett, Jessica (Mitch) Langreck, Brittany (Codey) Hayek, Colten Tlusty and Katie Tlusty (fiancé Chase Klingaman); great-grandchildren, Riley and Jace Goemann, Sara and Christian Carolan, Kieran and Olivia Owings, Nolan and Tate Carolan, Mariah and Madilyn Langreck, Baby Hayek due in March and Tucker Tlusty; sisters, Jeanette Chwialkowski and Diane Bohr; and brother, Roger (Elaine) Kleve.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald in 2019; her parents, Hugo and Mary Kleve; granddaughters, Lisa Marie Carolan and Nicole Carolan Owings; sisters, Delores Davis, Ann Scharnweber and Marie McAllister; and one brother, Ralph Kleve.