Joneil Jeannie Marie Backstrom

Joneil "Jeannie" Backstrom, 65, Bismarck, ND, entered Heavens gates unexpectedly due to cancer on February 27, 2013. Services will be held at 10:30 am Monday, March 4, at Century Baptist Church, Bismarck, with Rev. Gordon Stork and Lu Mathison officiating. Burial will be in the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Visitation will be held from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Sunday, March 3, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. Joneil Marie Goodsell was born in Bottineau, ND, to James and Dineva Cote Goodsell on June 25, 1947. She was educated throughout the tri-state area as her father worked road construction. She met the love of her life in June of 1963 as he drove by in a 1957 Ford convertible offering a ride. Joneil married Verdeen Backstrom on September 16, 1963, in Fergus Falls, MN. They made their first home in Moorhead, MN, and moved to Chicago, IL, after Verdeen joined the US Navy. Their first child Tami was born in 1965. In 1966 they moved back to the family farm. The second child, Troy, was born in 1967. Joneil was employed by the Maddock Hospital and helped on the farm. Dede was born in 1978 and Tasha in 1980 which completed their family. Joneil was employed by Chapman's Grocery in Minnewaukan, ND, and finally her true love to work with the elderly which took her to the Heartland Care Center in Devils Lake, ND, over 17 years. Verdeen and Joneil moved to Bismarck in September 2009. She currently was employed by Edgewood Vista. Joneil enjoyed shopping, traveling, sewing, baking, and meeting her sisters for a glass of unsweetened iced tea. But most of all she adored her grandchildren. She was a member of the Trinity Free Lutheran Church in Minnewaukan and currently attended Century Baptist Church in Bismarck. Survivors include her husband, Verdeen; daughters, Tami Lonnie Griffin of Maddock, Dede Jeremy Roberts of Westfield, NJ, Tasha Haugen of Minot; son, Troy Backstrom of Bismarck; nine grandchildren and one on the way; sisters, Corrine Sanferd Mees, Debi Loren Greene, Valerie Clay Myhre, all of Bismarck, Sheila Robert Johnson, of Mandan, Jacki Mike Blum, and Roxanne Hal Hains, of Miles City, MT; nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Lester Goodsell; and a nephew, Jesse Goodsell.

Joneil Jeannie Marie Backstrom

June 25, 1947 - February 27, 2013