Latheria Person

Latheria "JoAnn" Person, age 90, of Morris, died Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, at the West Wind Village. A Memorial Service will be held at 2 PM Saturday, December 21, 2013, at First Lutheran Church in Morris, with the Reverend Paul Erdal officiating. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in Summit Cemetery, Morris, in the spring. Latheria JoAnn Peterson was born January 29, 1923, in Columbus, Nebraska, the only child of Alvin E. and Latheria (Davey) Peterson. Named Latheria after her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, her mother liked the name JoAnn, which is the name she was called for most of her life. Her childhood years were spent in St. Edward, Nebraska, with her parents and grandparents. After graduating from St. Edward high school, JoAnn took her aunts' advice and attended nursing school at Mercy College of Nursing in San Diego, graduating in 1943. She took a position at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and while at Columbia, noticed a newspaper ad recruiting nurses for World War II. JoAnn chose to enlist in the Army Nurse Corps and was deployed to the 227th Station Hospital in Guam and Okinawa, where she served in a "MASH" unit until the war's end. The 227th then was deployed to Korea, and in 1946 she was honorably discharged, achieving the rank of First Lieutenant. Following her military service, JoAnn attended Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota, and earned a degree in psychology in 1949. It was while attending Gustavus that she met Lyle Person, and they were married in 1948 and blessed with two children. JoAnn worked for the Minneapolis Star and Minneapolis Tribune in health services for two years before moving to Morris with her family. JoAnn worked for five years in the Morris Public Schools as school nurse and many years working at the Morris Medical Center, Stevens Community Medical Center, Villa of St. Francis (West Wind Village) and Hoffman Good Samaritan Center. JoAnn's interests were wide range from golfing and reading to politics and opera. She travelled extensively at home and abroad until her health failed. She has lived at West Wind Village for the last five years. JoAnn is survived by her two children, Dr. Peter (Carol) of Duluth, MN and Sarah (Jeff) Mattheisen of Morris; and three grandchildren, Luke Mattheisen, Anna Person and Nicholas Person. In addition to her parents, JoAnn is preceded in death by her husband, Lyle; and a grandson, Erick Person. Memorials are preferred to the Erick Peter Person Children's Cancer Center c/o Essentia Health Foundation, 400 East Third Street, Duluth, MN 55805. The family would like to thank the staff of West Wind Village for the excellent care they gave our mother and father who both resided at the West Wind Village.

Funeral Home: Erickson-Smith Funeral Home - Elbow Lake 116 1st Street NE Elbow Lake, MN US 56531

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Previous Events

Visitation
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Service
Saturday, December 21, 2013