Jo Anne, a proud Nebraskan, was born in Hastings, Nebraska to Thomas and Helen (Taedter) Jones. She obtained a B.S. from Hastings College, and then attended Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Omaha, Nebraska, graduating with a degree in nursing. While in Omaha, she met and married Walter “Walt” Pfister. The couple moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Walt attended college. They started their family in Fort Wayne with the birth of their son, Daniel “Dan.” After Walt’s graduation from engineering school, the family moved to Wichita, Kansas. Soon after, they welcomed their daughter, Dianne. Jo Anne and Walt moved to the Goddard area (Lake Waltanna) in 1965. After Walt’s passing in 2015, she moved to Overland Park, KS to be closer to Dianne and her family.
Jo Anne was a long-time member of the Order of Job’s Daughters, the American Association of University Women, and the Goddard Federated Women’s Club. Jo Anne was an active member of the Methodist Church her entire life. Her nursing career included working at the VA Hospital in Ft. Wayne, teaching LPN classes in Wichita, as well as working at a senior care home. Jo Anne loved knitting, playing bridge, spending time with her family, sporting events, and traveling. She and Walt visited all fifty states during their sixty-one years of marriage. Jo Anne was a proud mother and grandmother, and will be remembered for her welcoming smile.
She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings Mary Helen and Thomas William, Jr., husband Walt, and son Dan. She is survived by her daughter Dianne (Scott) Stanley, of Leawood, Kansas, and three granddaughters: Lauren (Luke) McGuire (Arlington, VA), Meg Stanley (Evanston, IL), and Kathleen Stanley.
A graveside service for Jo Anne will be held Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 11:30 AM at Resthaven Gardens of Memory, Wichita, Kansas.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Goddard United Methodist Church or Hastings College.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ResthavenMortuary-Cemetery.com for the Pfister family.
