Nancy Lea (Erickson) Joern

Our beloved Nancy, a Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and a wife of 63 years left us to be with the Lord on Tuesday March 5th 2019. She was born in Granite City, Illinois on March 22nd, 1932 to Emil and Esther Erickson.  Nancy was educated in the early years in Granite City before moving in 1948 with her family to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where Emil was a Pharmacist.  After finishing high school she enrolled at Florida State University where she pursued a degree in speech therapy.  After graduation, she was employed by the Ft. Lauderdale school system where she traveled among several schools instructing students and applying her knowledge of speech therapy. 

In 1955 she married 2nd Lt. Jack Joern and became an Air Force wife moving from base to base every 1-3 years for the next 22 years.  After Jack’s retirement from the Air Force, she lived in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, Santa Barbara, California and Omaha, Nebraska finally settling in Sula, Montana in 1983 where the couple lived at Joerney’s End over the next 35 years. 

Nancy was a member of the AF chapter of PEO and a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Hamilton.  She enjoyed sewing and was an accomplished seamstress having created drapes and curtains for the homes the couple lived in over the many years.  She also created an extensive array of clothing for herself and family.  Above all these, Nancy’s greatest treasure and the one aspect of her life she held dearest was her family.

Nancy is survived by her husband Jack, her eldest son Jeff (wife Kathy, grandchildren Jennifer and John), her middle son, Steve, her youngest son Eric (wife Becky, grandchild Kyle, wife Megan, great granddaughter Madelyn, and grandchild Jared, wife Macy).  Nancy is also survived by her sister Sally Crawford of Hamilton and her children Clint, Scott, Carl, Donna (Kresse) and their families.

Jeff lives in Whitefish, Montana where he is a captain with Delta Airlines flying the Boeing 777, Steve lives in Sula next to the Joerney’s End homestead working at Rocky Mountain Homes and caretaker for Jack and Nancy and Eric is an Aerospace Engineer working for Lockheed Martin in Colorado Springs, Co.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, March 10th at the First Presbyterian Church in Hamilton with Pastor Patti Stone officiating.

Urn placement will take place at the Sula Cemetery at a later date.

Anyone wishing to leave a memorial is encouraged to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association in lieu of flowers.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Nancy Lea (Erickson) Joern, please visit our floral store.