Joan Michalenko

Joan Michalenko, 62, Hazen, ND, and Green Valley, AZ, died on November 7, 2007, in Tucson. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 10:30 AM at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bismarck with Rev. Marv Mutzenberger officiating. Burial will be at the ND Veterans Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 4:00 - 9:00 PM at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a prayer service will be held at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Joan Louise Merwin Michalenko was born on May 9, 1945, in Lewistown, MT, to Dan and Gladys Johnson Merwin. Joan's family moved to Hettinger, ND, in 1949 where she lived until graduating from Hettinger High School in 1963. Joan Joni attended college at UND in Grand Forks, ND, and DSU in Dickinson, ND, obtaining her teaching certificate and Bachelor of Science Degree in elementary education. She taught three years in country schools in north Lemmon, SD, and the remaining 26 years in Jefferson Elementary in Dickinson, ND, and Dorothy Moses Elementary in Bismarck, ND. Joni married Gerald Jerry Michalenko, the love of her life. After retirement, the couple spent their time between their winter home in Green Valley, AZ, and their lake home in Pick City, ND. Joni and Jerry loved entertaining friends and family - their beautiful homes were filled with laughter and love. Joni had many hobbies and was known for doing everything to perfection. She liked counted cross stitch, quilting, raising flowers and being with her beloved husband while they fished, worked on home projects and in their vegetable garden. They also volunteered at the "White Elephant", a thrift store, and liked to go rummaging for bargains in the Tucson area. Joni was an active member of the Lutheran Churches of Pick City and Green Valley and belonged to a quilting club that makes quilts for the needy. Joni left this world on November 7, 2007, with her family by her side. Surviving her is her husband Jerry; her parents, Dan and Gladys Merwin; her sister, Arlene Leo Johnson; her nephews, Steven and Tony Heidi Johnson; her extended families, Richard and Ronnie Michalenko and children; and a host of friends and family. Passing before her was her little brother, Dennis. The family prefers memorials to Badland's Bible Camp or Jerry's nephew, Kenny Hendrickson Memorial, the Bismarck Public School Foundation.

Joan Michalenko

May 9, 1945 - November 7, 2007