JoAn Goetzinger Ehlers' Obituary
JoAn was married to Steven E. Ehlers for 52 years. She loved her daughter, Alice and spent many hours volunteering with school and other activities. JoAn enjoyed helping other rather than being in the spotlight.
JoAn was born in McAllen, TX, the youngest of four siblings. Their father was a farmer of oranges and field crops and their mother was a homemaker who had previously been a schoolteacher. JoAn became seriously ill at age 4 and was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes (now called Type 1 [T1] Diabetes).
She was hospitalized and this experience inspired her to pursue a career as a Medical Technologist. JoAn worked as a MedTech for 10 years, completed a Master's Degree in Microbiology, and continued her career as Microbiologist in a variety of laboratory settings. Later in her career Jo An joined the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the National Older Worker Career Center (NOWCC), becoming an Administrative Assistant. After she and Steve retired, they moved to Frederick, MD to be close to their daughter's family; Alice, son-in-law Jeffrey and only grandson Steven Zalatoris.
JoAn was creative and enjoyed planning and making crafts. Her main crafts were sewing, quilting and crochet. She also loved music. Beyond work and hobbies, JoAn loved her family and friends. She had
8 nieces and nephews and helped them when she could and celebrated all their successes and achievements. What she most enjoyed was being "Oma" to her grandson. It was a joy to watch him grow.
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