She lived at the Willow Creek Apartments for 20 years and before that lived only one block away in the Oakdell neighborhood for 34 Years. She was a lifelong resident of Kansas City, Missouri.
She was preceded in death by her husband Herbert Jack Gardner, twin brother Jerry Staley, and her parents, Vannoy and Helen Staley. She leaves behind 5 children, Geri Ball, Diana Sawtelle, Kim Pierson, Jeff Gardner, and Christina Traynor, and Sister Kathryn Flaherty. She also leaves behind 9 grandchildren Christopher Ball, Danielle Ball, Tricia Turpin, Cody Sawtelle, Brittany Sawtelle, Jacqueline Stidham, Stan Pierson (SD), James Gardner, Jessica Schultz. And 9 great-grandchildren Austin, Jordynn, Liam, Dylan, Bowen, Nicholas, Peyton, Keegan, Aria and Jacob.
JoAnn was a member of the First Baptist Church of Kansas City all her life. Beginning at the Linwood location as a youth, and then on to the beautiful new stone building on Red Bridge Road when it opened in 1963. She sang in the Chancel Choir and rang her bells in the Bell Choir for many years. Her love for music and the church lasted a lifetime. She was a Girl Scout leader for many years including camping, horseback riding, cookie sales, and worked with the girls on many badges.
She loved to travel. A few of the places she visited are Graceland in Memphis Tennessee, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Flagstaff Arizona, Jacksonville Florida, Portland OR to visit her nieces and a family trip to Six Flags over Texas.
Music played a large role in her life, her interests ranged from Gospel music to country and a little bit of rock n roll. She attended lots of concerts, like Elvis, Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers to name a few.
A visitation for Joann will be held Friday, October 22, 2021 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at First Baptist Church, 100 West Red Bridge Road, Kansas City, MO 64114, followed by a funeral service from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.
