Joan Kathryn Eidem

Joan Kathryn Eidem, age 92, of Austin, Minnesota, passed away Sunday, October 19, 2025, at Mayo Clinic Hospital Rochester, Methodist Campus. Joan was born September 17, 1933, to Otmar and Mae (Johnson) Molde in Kasson, Minnesota.

Joan attended rural schools in Dodge County and graduated from Kasson High School as salutatorian of her class in 1951. She completed the Teacher Training Program at the Southern Minnesota Normal College in Austin and later obtained a B.S. degree in elementary education from Winona State University. Joan’s 41-year teaching career began in one-room schools with grades one through eight before teaching in Dexter, Blooming Prairie, and the last 30 years in the Austin Public Schools before her retirement in 1993.

She married Peter Eidem in July, 1953, in the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa.

She was a member of the Austin Area Retired Educators Association (AAREA), the Southeast Retired Educators Association of Minnesota (SEREAM), the Retired Educators Association of Minnesota (REAM) and the Business and Professional Women’s Association (BPW).

Joan loved golf, her mornings were not complete until she had spent time reading the many newspapers she subscribed to, but most of all she loved road trips. During her retirement, trips led her several times north through Canada and on the ALCAN Highway to Alaska with her sisters and young nephews and niece. She cherished the extended stays in Alaska with her sister Ellen and her family. She was a steady touchstone for those who knew her. Joan’s thoughtfulness and generosity will live on in the memories of friends, students, and her family.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Peter, parents, and sister Ellen King.

Joan is survived by her sister, LaVonne Molde of St. Paul, Minnesota; her nephews, Jay (Dianne) King of King Salmon, Alaska, Jon (Lori) King of Naknek, Alaska; niece, Jodi (Steve Goldman) King of Seattle, Washington; and grand niece and nephews Adam King, Austin King, Mason (Breanna) King, Miles (Kathryn) King, Conor King Goldman, and Tara King Goldman.

Memorials may be directed to Grace Lutheran Church, the Nicholas Monsen Jr. Scholarship Fund, PO Box 103, Naknek, AK 99633, or the organization of your choice.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at Grace Lutheran Church in Austin with Pastor Matthew White officiating. Visitation will be at the church from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service with a lunch to follow. Interment will be at West St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery, rural Hayfield, following the lunch. Worlein-Hoff Funeral Homes of Austin are assisting the family with arrangements.