Joann Spiegelberg

JoAnn Spiegelberg lived a long, beautiful life filled with friends and family. She passed away at home on April 11, 2024, in the presence of her children. She loved her garden. She was known for rescuing the clearance plants at BiMart and Fred Meyer and bringing them back to life. She had over fifty roses and loved taking care of her yard. Mom was also known for her love of reading, she read the Seattle Times every day and was very sad when the Yakima Herald went to only three issues a week. She belonged to a book club and read voraciously her whole life. She was also a knitter and enjoyed making prayer shawls for those needing a physical comfort in tough times. Mom was passionate about issues of justice; she was open minded and non-judgmental. She was easy to love, and many did. She was a lifelong, loyal Methodist and when she and Carl moved to Yakima in 1991, she easily found friends and meaning in the Wesley United Methodist Church family. She was an enthusiastic supporter of United Women in Faith. She also loved and enjoyed her PEO sisters. JoAnn was born September 5,1929 in Seattle Washington to Merrill and Marion Stover. She attended Montlake Grade School and Garfield High School and graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She started her nursing career at Swedish Hospital. It was as a student nurse that she met our dad, Carl Spiegelberg who was an aeronautical engineering student at UW. They were married on November 9, 1952. Mom put her nursing career on hold to raise four children in Bellevue, Washington. Once the youngest was in junior high, she went back to nursing, this time in a skilled nursing facility. Mom was amazing in her ability to make and keep friends. She was close to her grade school, high school and nursing friends throughout her whole life. Mom had a strong faith in God, and it sustained her through the end of her life, she was truly at peace when God reached out His hand to take her home. She was fortunate to stay in her own home through the end of life thanks to a wonderful team of caregivers. Maria, Laura, Norma, Rosa, Kaylah, Daniel and Estella, thank you for your loving and tender care for our mom. Thank you also to the wonderful hospice team at Memorial Hospice, especially RN Melissa, you made Mom’s end of life journey comfortable and peaceful. JoAnn was preceded in death by her husband, parents, her sister, Mary Pat Matthews and daughter in laws Janet Spiegelberg and Jeanette Spiegelberg. She is survived by her children: Marc (Sandy) Spiegelberg, Craig (Jeannie) Spiegelberg, Carol (Ken) Wagar and Lisa (Stuart) O’Brochta, twelve grandchildren and nineteen great grandchildren. Memorial gifts can be directed to Yakima Union Gospel Mission or Wesley UMC, Wesley UWF and UMCOR. These can be sent in c/o Wesley United Methodist Church. Memorial service is planned for 2:00 pm on May 11 at Wesley Methodist Church. The family of Mrs. Spiegelberg has entrusted the caring staff of Valley Hills Funeral Home & Crematory with arrangements. Online condolences may be left at: www.valleyhillsfh.com. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Joann Spiegelberg, please visit our flower store.