JoAnn Estes

JoAnn Frances Bellmore was born December 4, 1932 to William and Katherine (Neppl) Bellmore in Kent, Minnesota. As a young girl, JoAnn and her family moved to Henning, Minnesota where she spent most of her life. While attending high school, JoAnn worked as a nanny and housekeeper. JoAnn remained friends with this family throughout her life. JoAnn married Rodney Fosse on April 5, 1952 and to this union 8 children were born; 7 boys and 1 girl: Bryan, Greg, Brenda, Daniel, Perry, Jody, Kelly, and Tracy.

On August 15, 1982 JoAnn married Delmar Estes. They had one very special daughter, Allyson Jo. Delmar and JoAnn built a home on a farm near Deer Creek, Minnesota. JoAnn and Allyson moved to Carlos, Minnesota after Delmar’s death in 1992. Allyson attended Alexandria High School and once she graduated, they moved to Alexandria, Minnesota where JoAnn spent the remainder of her life.

JoAnn loved to garden; she canned the produce and proudly displayed it on a shelf in her basement. JoAnn also loved to bake; you could stop by for a cup of coffee and she always had cookies, bars, breads, and cakes ready to serve. JoAnn took special pride in baking Christmas cookies, especially baking each of her 9 children their favorite cookie every year.

JoAnn was very involved with Special Olympics, enjoyed having coffee with friends, listening to country western music, and reading. The last year of her life she lived in the Maple Wing at Knute Nelson Nursing Home. She made wonderful friends and loved all of the staff and in turn they loved her too. JoAnn was a wonderful mother with a kind, compassionate, caring heart. She was a wonderful mother and raised her children to be strong, independent adults. Her faith in God gave her strength to overcome many obstacles, to raise strong independent children, and to be a loving and caring mother, sister, and friend. She will be missed by everyone who knew and loved her.

On August 13th, 2019, under the care of the Maple Wing staff and Knute Nelson Hospice, JoAnn passed away at the age of 86. She is preceded in death by her parents, William and Katherine Bellmore; brothers, Lyle and Ben Bellmore; sisters, Jeanette Leitch, Marlys Hennigar, and Blanche Layland; Rodney Fosse and Delmar Estes.

She is survived by her 9 children, Bryan (Sue) Fosse of Cottage Grove, MN, Greg Fosse, Randi, and Julian of Moab, Utah, Brenda (Mike) Barker of Alexandria, MN, Daniel (Kathy) Fosse of Blaine, MN, Perry (Pat) Fosse of Dillon, Montana, Jody (Sue) Fosse of Coon Rapids, MN, Kelly Fosse of Big Lake, MN, Tracy (Jolene Johannes) of Wadena, MN, Allyson and her foster parents, Mark and Tracy Seppanen of Nelson, MN; 17 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren; sister, Diane (Wayne) Newhouse of Deer Creek, MN; brothers, Howard of Moorhead, MN, Joe of Grand Forks, ND, Leon (Carol) of North Dakota, Ron (Muriel) of Oregon, Marvin (Joanne) of Fergus Falls, MN, Gary (Faith) of Minneapolis, MN, and Allen (Mary) of Clearlake, MN.

Visitation will be on Saturday, August 24th from 12 noon to 1 PM at the Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria, followed by the Celebration of Life memorial service at 1 PM. Interment to follow at Inman Cemetery near Henning, Minnesota. The family of JoAnn would like to extend a special thank you to Knute Nelson Hospice and the Maple Wing staff for their love, care, and support of their mom.