The family will receive visitors from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM on January 23 at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM January 24 at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, Wesley Chapel at 13720 Roe Avenue, Leawood, Kansas. A graveside interment at Mount Moriah Cemetery will follow at 11:30 AM with a reception and refreshments afterwards at Mount Moriah Funeral Home.
Joan was born in Kansas City , Missouri on October 5, 1928 to Nelle Winifred Goetze and Willard Barker Goetze. She was the eldest of six daughters, attending grade school both in Kansas City, Missouri and also a 1-room schoolhouse in St. Joseph, Missouri. After she graduated from Ruskin High School in 1945, Joan studied journalism at the University of Missouri at Columbia and was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.
A mutual friend introduced her to her future husband, Jerome (Jerry) Edward Holtzman, when she took a summer course in Geology at Metropolitan Junior College in Kanas City. It literally was “love at first sight” and they were married April 9, 1952. Jerry started Dental School at UMKC that same year and they sold their only car in order to purchase their first home in Shawnee, Kansas.
Jerry and Joan had four daughters and one son between 1953-1967. Joan was an excellent cook and decorator. She and Jerry both loved being with family and their home was always the center for holidays and celebrations for family members from near and far.
Joan had a wide range of interests and talents ranging from antiques to the arts, music, and travel. She co-owned JoNell’s Antiques with her mother for many years as they travelled the country exhibiting at antique shows and searching for antiques. She also volunteered at St. Luke’s Hospital on the Plaza for 11 years in various capacities. Both Jerry and Joan loved the arts and were very active in the Lyric Opera Guild, where Joan also served as Secretary of the Women’s Auxiliary. Additionally, she was a volunteer with the Nelson Gallery of Art. They helped to start a Food Club and dined monthly with their close friends for almost 40 years. Joan and Jerry loved to travel and journeyed extensively through both Eastern and Western Europe, South America, and the Caribbean. These trips often included family members and were the source of many hilarious and memorable family stories.
Jerry passed away in 2009. Joan sold the family home in 2012, moving to Tallgrass Creek Retirement Community. She was a lifelong learner and, at Tallgrass, Joan continued to grow and learn as a member of the Antique Club, the Book Club, the Low-Vision Club, as well as participating in many of the OSHER classes offered there. She loved living at Tallgrass and cherished her many friends there. Dinner with her friends was a favorite part of her day. Joan had a wonderful sense of humor and often regaled her dinner companions with hysterical stories of her husband and family.
Her faith was also an important part of Joan’s life. She was a member of United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and faithfully attended weekly services at Tallgrass Creek.
Her family would like to offer thanks to her many friends at Tallgrass Creek, and also to her caregivers at Olathe Hospice for the friendship and faithful care during her illness.
The family suggests that contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to: Roy J. Rinehart Memorial Foundation, 650 East 25th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108-2784; Please include a memo that states funds should go to the Jerome E. and Joan Holtzman, D.D.S. Scholarship Fund.
