LA MOILLE - Joan Elizabeth Ecklund, 91, of LaMoille, passed away Sept. 27, 2021 at The Center at Northridge in Westminster, Colo.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14 at Community United Methodist Church, LaMoille with Rev. David Jungnickel officiating. Burial will follow at Greenfield Cemetery, LaMoille. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the services. Pallbearers will be Brian Ecklund, Scott Ecklund, Michael Ecklund, Cory Miller, Dominic Adducci and David Schwingle.

Joan was born Feb. 22, 1930 to Howard and Ivy (Fischer) Bauer and grew up on a farm east of LaMoille. She married Daryl Ecklund on Feb. 20, 1948 and they had 61 wonderful years together until his passing in 2009.

Survivors include three children, Christine Wright, Gordon (Normaine) Ecklund and Jon (Claire) Ecklund; five grandchildren, Michael (Sue) Ecklund, Brian (Amy) Ecklund, Scott Ecklund, Erika (Cory) Miller and Allie (Dominic) Adducci; and nine great-grandchildren, Brandon Ecklund, Sydney Ecklund, Olivia Ecklund, Sophia Ecklund, Brannon Barnhill, Chance Miller, Trysten Miller, Lucy Adducci and Colton Adducci.

She was preceded in death by her husband and three siblings, Richard Bauer, Robert Bauer and Mildred Truckenbrod.

The Centennial Farm was something she and her family took great pride in. She attended IVCC later in life after raising her children and graduated Summa Cum Laude, which was an honor she held dear. She began her nursing career at Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton as an ICU nurse and worked there until her retirement in 1992. After retirement, she and Daryl traveled to all but seven states. She also became enthusiastically driven to seek out her family genealogy and took a trip to Germany to further understand her ancestry. She later became a regular volunteer at the Bureau County Genealogy Society.

In lieu of flowers, please offer contributions to the LaMoille Ambulance Service or to the Bureau County Genealogy Society. Online condolences may be left at www.merrittfh.com.