Joan Shafer

Joan (Mrs. Jake) Shafer, 85, of Mt. Pleasant, formerly of Fairfield, died Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, at Park Place Long Term Care Unit in Mt. Pleasant. She and her husband Jake were well known as business partners in Mt. Pleasant and Southeastern Iowa.

The funeral service for Joan Shafer was held at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23, at the First United Methodist Church, 309 North Main Street, Mt. Pleasant. The Rev. Herbert G. Shafer, Senior Pastor, presided. Interment was in the Evergreen Cemetery, Fairfield. Visitation was at the Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 North Main Street, Mt. Pleasant.

Mrs. Shafer, the former Joan Heston, was born Nov. 17, 1923 in Libertyville, the daughter of Lloyd and Nellie Morris Heston. Joan was a member of the girls' basketball team that played in the regional championship game. She graduated from Libertyville High School and took Normal Training for teachers. She taught for two years in the former Vega I School in the Glasgow, rural Jefferson County community. On Aug. 23, 1943 at the Lutheran Church parsonage in Fairfield, Joan was united in marriage to Jake Shafer. This past year they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

For more, see our Feb. 23 print edition.