Joan Carolan

Tuesday, February 22, 2022 2:45 pm

Joan (Kleve) Carolan, age 89, of Cresco, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022 at Evans Memorial Home in Cresco.

 A Memorial Mass will be held on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at 11 a.m., at Notre Dame Catholic Church with Father Jacob Rouse Officiating. Visitation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, prior to the service.  Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Cresco.

Joan Marie Carolan was born on April 15, 1932, in Howard County.  She was the daughter of Hugo and Mary (Wenthold) Kleve.  She was a lifelong member of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and attended St. Joseph’s School. On Oct. 11, 1950, she was united in marriage to Donald Carolan of Cresco. They started farming near Cresco and moved to Fort Sill, Okla., in 1952 when Don was drafted during the Korean Conflict. After discharge they returned to Cresco and purchased a farm near Ridgeway in 1956, where they lived until retirement in 1998. They donated the log cabin on the farm to the Howard County Historical Society where it stands in Beadle Park today.

She was a lifelong member of the Howard County Historical Society, Notre Dame Parish, the Alter and Rosary Society, and the American Legion.Her love for baking and kolaches reaped her many awards and honors at the Howard and Winneshiek County Fairs. She enjoyed dancing, baking, genealogy, gardening, quilting, playing cards, crocheting her beautiful doilies, reading and playing the organ. Her true pride and joy were her grandchildren. She fulfilled one of her lifelong goals by obtaining her GED from the State of Iowa in 1989.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald in 2019, her parents Hugo and Mary Kleve, granddaughters Lisa Marie Carolan and Nicole Carolan Owings; sisters Delores Davis, Ann Scharnweber, Marie McAllister; and one brother Ralph Kleve.

Joan is survived by sons Rodney (Nancy) Carolan of Ridgeway, IA, Kevin (Donna) Carolan of Calmar, IA, and Sharon (Rick) Tlusty of Waseca, MN; grandchildren Adam (Jen) Carolan), Nick (Elizabeth) Owings, Sean (Katie) Carolan, Laine (Jodi) Henning, Lynn (Karen) Henning, Sara (Sean) Malone, Michael (Lena) Corlett, Jessica (Mitch) Langreck, Brittany (Codey) Hayek, Colten Tlusty, Katie Tlusty and Fiance Chase Klingaman; great-grandchildren Riley and Jace Goemann, Sara and Christian Carolan, Kieran and Olivia Owings, Nolan and Tate Carolan, Mariah and Madilyn Langreck, Baby Hayek due in March and Tucker Tlusty; sisters Jeanette Chwialkowski and Diane Bohr, and brother Roger (Elaine) Kleve.

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