To view the service, click here: https://youtu.be/idsHhLTfR7g?si=u_r5mUz21Zh47Nua

Joan Tibbets (everyone called her Jo-Ann) filled many roles during her 90+ years on earth, including those of daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was a woman with a servant's heart who greatly loved her family and could be found most days in the kitchen preparing a feast for those she loved. God granted her the gift of hospitality which was most evident when her home was filled with children and grandchildren, longtime friends, neighbors, pastors and missionaries. Among her specialties were homemade biscuits and sausage gravy, lasagna, peach cobbler and a huge assortment of pies that filled every belly around her table.
With permission from her parents, Joan's biggest supporting role began on August 27, 1949, when she married Gordon Tibbets in Carson City, Nevada. Although quite young, Joan learned to be a wife and on May 30, 1950, gave birth to her son, Gordon Tibbets Jr.  Four other children followed while the family lived in central California. There, the family experienced tragedy twice; an infant son, Bruce Lee, passed soon after birth, and son Gordon died at age 12 following an auto accident. Joan always proclaimed her faith in the Lord pulled her through.
The family spent a few years in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington, before moving in the summer of 1971 to Kenai, Alaska. The trip was meant to be a vacation, driving the Alcan Highway with a pastor and his family. After experiencing the Alaskan life, they didn't return to the "lower 48" and stayed many years. After Gordon's retirement, the couple moved to a small farm near Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Joan enjoyed hosting holidays with her family and friends, gardening, and caring for her parents. Throughout her life, she worked many jobs as a waitress, in the airline industry, banking and even marketing. But a serious illness forced retirement in her mid-50s. She then spent more time sewing, crocheting and quilting.
She and Gordon loved to travel, and her favorite destinations were Hawaii and Branson, Missouri (even though she had to wear long sleeves and hats because of very sun-sensitive skin). They attended music festivals, including bluegrass, and you could always find them in a local church on Sundays. When the farm became overwhelming, they moved to be near their children in North Dakota, Oklahoma and Kansas. Gordon graduated to Heaven on March 18, 2012, after 62 years of marriage. Life was never the same for Joan.  Yet she found peace living with and near her daughters and their families.
Joan was born September 12, 1934 in Hackett, Arkansas, and never given a middle name.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Harley Edward and Nancy Millicent (Owen) Lewis; husband, Gordon; sons, Gordon Jr. and Bruce Lee; and brother, Harley Lewis Jr.
She is survived by sister, Nancy Ruth Long, of California; daughters, Gwen (Joe) Sandoval, of Mohall, Norma (Bert) Hess, of Oklahoma, and Jody Tibbets, of Colorado.  Joan had four grandsons, Stuart (Keisha) Krumm, of Ohio, Christopher (Sarah) McAulay, of Iowa, Patrick McAulay, of Kansas, and Kevin McAulay, of Colorado; three granddaughters, Meichell Krumm, of Mohall, Shawn Person, of California and Jessica (Josh) Holman, of Missouri; and 12 great-grandchildren.
Joan loved much and was greatly loved and now is in the presence of her Savior and those who passed before her who shared her faith in God.  We know she prayed for all of you to join her someday.
Graveside service: Noon, Saturday, May 17, 2025, at the Mohall Community Cemetery.
Friends may sign the online guestbook at brosefuneralhome.com.
Memorials: Memorials preferred to Prairie Home Health, Mohall.
(Brose Funeral Home, Mohall)