Joan Zakotnik Amundson

Joan was born November 19, 1940, to Frances and Al Zakotnik in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Joan attended high school in Kemmerer, where she was a stellar student, a cheerleader and the drum majorette of the marching band. Upon graduation from Kemmerer High, Joan moved to Denver, Colorado, to attend Colorado Women’s College. She was the first in her family to attend college. While a student at CWC she attended a basketball game with her roommate, whose boyfriend was the coach of the team. Little did she know that night, she would meet the love of her life, Arlen.

After Arlen completed his service in the US Air Force and Joan her associate’s degree at CWC, they were married on September 16, 1961. While Arlen worked at Martin Marietta, Joan became a homemaker, a job she loved and in which she took great pride. In 1962, their daughter Kathryn was born and and two years later the family moved to Loveland in just a weekend’s time, after Arlen accepted a job at Hewlett-Packard. The following year, their son Michael was born.

In 1972 when both of her kids were in school, Joan began working as a teacher’s aide at Big Thompson Elementary. She was then put in charge of the library as the library aide, and there was no place she loved more. She enjoyed combining her love of children and books for 27 years before retiring. She kept the friendship of the teachers there until she passed.

Joan and Arlen loved sports. She and Arlen had season tickets for the Denver Broncos for over fifteen years. She traveled to many softball tournaments over the years to watch Arlen play, and when her son played basketball for the University of Wyoming they traveled to Laramie and beyond including a trip to the finals of the NIT tournament in New York City, and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in Seattle, WA.. She claimed to be a reluctant fan of hockey when her daughter began covering the NHL as a journalist, but when asked, could always name the Original Six. She loved March Madness and looked forward to a month of nothing but college basketball games every year. They enjoyed baseball and went to games at many major league parks and took a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

She and Arlen built their dream home after they both retired. Joan’s green thumb always had beautiful flowers adorning her house each spring and summer. They spent their retirement watching Rockies games in person or on television, visiting her son in Arizona which included a trip to the Grand Canyon every time and enjoying popsicles on the front porch with the neighborhood kids. They made a trip to one of her favorite places, Yellowstone National Park, almost every year. A self-described homebody, she went with her daughter to visit Germany and Denmark and loved the trip. In September of 2021, Arlen and Joan celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

She is survived by her husband, Arlen, and her two children, Kathryn, of Windsor, Colorado; and Mike and Lauren Amundson of Flagstaff, Arizona. She also leaves behind her brother Gary and sister-in-law Joann Zakotnik, and sister Rozanne and brother-in-law Doug Reachard, and three Godchildren, Hayden, Rian and Jessie Thomas. Although she and Arlen had no grandchildren, she loved all the grand dogs her children brought into her life.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents, Frances and Al Zakotnik.

The family chose cremation. A Celebration of Life Open House will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022 between the hours of 1-4 pm at 182 Cherry Orchard Avenue in Loveland, CO 80537 In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to bring a new or gently used children’s book, which will be donated in her memory. Cards and Memorial Donations may be sent to the Amundson Family at the above address.