Joanne Merle Williams

Joanne Merle Williams, of Alexandria, Minnesota died August 16, 2024. She was born March 20, 1930 to Eric Blomberg and Martha Temanson Blomberg in Stewartville, Minnesota and was an only child. 

Joanne was raised in Minneapolis and graduated from Central High School. She married David Collis in 1949. They moved to California, raised two daughters, and shared their home with several foster children. They later divorced.

In 1973, she married Lowell Williams and shared in the raising of his two children. In 1989, they purchased a home in Ashton, Idaho where they lived part-time until moving permanently to St. Anthony in 1994. Lowell died in 2005. In 2010, she married Roger Kottke, PhD, of Alexandria, Minnesota, a school friend whom she met again at their 60th High School Reunion. 

Joanne attended the Presbyterian Church while in California and in Idaho where she was a lay pastor in St. Anthony and Rexburg. She also spoke at a variety of other churches in the area. She considered herself a perpetual volunteer. These services to her community included 4-H when her children were young, EMT and ambulance driver on the Rescue Squad, a variety of services at the South Fremont Senior Citizens in St. Anthony where she wrote a Monthly Newsletter for over 15 years. She served on the Board of Directors and as a Chaplain at Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexberg. Joanne also worked for over 25 years in hospices in California and Idaho. 

Joanne was an author and kept her Williams name. She taught evening classes on “How to Write Your Life History” and wrote a variety of materials for publication including articles, magazine columns, education curriculum, and five books. Her book BARREN MOTHER chronicled her experiences as a foster and adoptive parent. Her second book, I'LL NEVER TELL, is a book that encourages us to record our life stories, And her third book, BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE, is a collection of stories she wrote especially for her children. This was followed by two other similar books. She was also a consulting editor for a trade magazine. When wintering in Surprise, Arizona she was a member of a writing group of published authors. 

In Alexandria, Joanne was active in Koffee and Kare, a sharing and caring group at Alexandria Covenant Church and volunteered at a local nursing home. She was known for her good humor and ready wit; during her last days in Memory Care at Grand Arbor she always had something good to say to fellow residents and staff. Joanne wished to be remembered as an “encourager” to those she knew and loved. 

She is survived by her husband, Roger, children, Diane Emmons of British Columbia, Julie Davis of California and two step-children, Cindy Williams of California and David Williams of California, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and their children. She is also loved and missed by Roger’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as by a cousin, Heidi Timm-Bijold of Duluth Minnesota and Roger’s brother-in law Peter Eikeland of Underwood, Minnesota as well as numerous friends.

Joanne was preceded in death by her husband, Lowell Williams, and her parents. 

Memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 14, 2024, 11:00 AM at the Alexandria Covenant Church with a visitation one hour prior to the service at the church.  Full obituary to follow