Joann Deatsch

Joann (Davitt) Deatsch was known by her family and many others in her life as, quite simply, the best of us.

She was humble, prideful, hard-working, smart, fun, quiet, generous and caring. During her 90 years of life, she consistently made those around her feel loved and appreciated.

Joann was born October 24, 1934, in Madison County, Iowa to Anthony Philip and Barbara (Bell) Davitt. She was raised on a farm, where she completed chores like milking cows or gathering chicken eggs before school. She attended Martensdale High School, where she set records and met the love of her life, Ronald Lester Deatsch. She earned the honor of valedictorian, but would be quick to point out her class graduated just 13 students. She starred in her favorite sport, once scoring 46 points in a high school basketball game and inspiring her future husband to adopt her jersey number, 33.

Ron proposed to Joann shortly before being sent overseas during the Korean War. The two were married July, 30, 1955, in Churchville, Iowa. They bought a small farm in Indianola, Iowa, and started a family. In 1966, Joann, Ron and their three children – Debra, Dale and Diane – moved to Streator, Illinois, where they opened a Coast to Coast Hardware store.

Joann worked seven days a week at the store and let her husband take all the credit for its success. After work she quickly returned home to take care of the house, cook dinner and support her children.

Joann and Ron sold the store in 1988 and retired to Lake Havasu, Arizona, where they enjoyed boating, fishing, gambling, socializing with friends and cheering on her beloved Phoenix Suns. (Joann may hold the unofficial record for royal flushes hit in Laughlin, Nevada, video poker machines.) However, they frequently traveled to Florida and Illinois to help raise their eight grandchildren – Jacob and Zachary Salata, Kelly, Alison and Melissa Deatsch, and Gregory, Jessica and Ryan Cappis.

While her husband was known as the life, and voice, of the party, anyone who had a seat next to Joann was treated with her sly humor. While everyone tried to talk over one another, Joann would lean to the person by her side and quip, "Do you think they can even hear themselves?"

Joann's two daughters and her sister, Helen, will always remember their vacation to Ireland as one of the highlights of their life, even though they were robbed on the street bearing Joann's family name.

Her grandchildren remember Joann as almost a second mother, a summertime babysitter and taxi driver. They remember being watched by Joann as a treat, though she demanded their respect – there would be no sibling spats in her presence.

She taught her grandchildren how to read, play cards, be humble and not tolerate nonsense. Some of her grandchildren fondly recall the time she told Ron, "keep your yip shut," when he interrupted a story. Joann spent time individually with her family members, making sure they knew how much she loved them.

Ron and Joann moved to Buffalo Grove, Illinois, in 2016 and continued to be the life of family get-togethers.

Joann was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and spent her final years in a memory care unit, where her loved ones visited her daily.

She passed of natural causes on September 23, 2025, in Prospect Heights, Illinois.

Her husband Ron preceded her in death, on October 8, 2024.

Joann is survived by her children Debra (Steve) Wolfe, Dale (Martha) Deatsch, and Diane (Bruce) Cappis; grandchildren Jacob and Zachary Salata, Kelly (Brad) Deatsch-Robinson, Alison (Zachary) Deatsch, Melissa (Frankie) Saitz, Gregory (Jess), Jessica and Ryan Cappis; great grandchildren, Jackson, Kendall, Emma, Layla, Caroline, Ryder, Owen and Noah; siblings Mary Steinhauser and Helen Ripperger; in-laws Linda Davitt, Rosalie Gedler, John Deatsch, Judy (Bill) Gilliam, Donna, Judy, Carolyn and Marita Deatsch.

She was preceded in death by her siblings Philip (Theo), Dorothy (Richard) Thomas, Robert Davitt, Jane (Joe) McCurran; and her in laws Tom Steinhauser and Jerry Ripperger, Firman (Betty), Elmer, William, Eugene, Shirley and Ivan Deatsch.

A visitation will be held from 9 a.m. until the time of the funeral mass at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, November 15, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Indianola Iowa, with an inurnment at I.O.O.F. Memorial Garden Cemetery, Indianola, following immediately after the mass. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to the Alzheimer's Foundation, www.alzfdn.org, in Joann's name. To place an online condolence, visit our website at www.overtonfunerals.com.