JoAn Well
JoAn Well
JoAn Well

Obituary of JoAn Elaine Well

JoAn Elaine Well November 17, 1933, to May 2, 2022 JoAn Elaine Well, 88, passed away peacefully in Mesa, Arizona on May 2nd, 2022, surrounded and comforted by family and friends. JoAn was born November 17, 1933, to Herbert and Ethel (Bruington) Wagner. She was raised on the Rocking W ranch north of Lark, ND along with her siblings Judy, Wencil and Lenora. She attended the Otter Creek Country School in Grant County and graduated from High School at Plainview Academy of Redfield, SD. She pursued a nursing career at Walla Walla College, WA. From her experiences from life on the farm, JoAn became a lifetime lover and advocate for "all creatures great and small." In later years her kids fondly called her home "JoAn's Ark" (birds, cats & dogs). JoAn's caring and compassion for animals carried through to anyone who was down and out, throughout her career, in the community, and especially family and friends. She met her soulmate, Harold Well, of Elgin, ND while she was employed at the Elgin Hospital. They were married on January 10, 1955, in Hazen, ND. They made a striking pair. He was a war Veteran and pursued a career in law enforcement as a Highway Patrolman, Game Warden, and Parole Officer for the State of ND. This led them to Bismarck, ND to pursue their careers and raise a family. They had four children, Colby, Dana, Briton (deceased) and Lisa. JoAn loved music and even considered it as a career. She played piano and sang soprano with choirs, quartets and trios with family, church, high school, college and camp meetings. Following Harold's sudden death on October 6, 1974, JoAn went on to graduate in the Spring of 1975, with Honors, with a bachelor's degree in Social Work at Mary College in Bismarck, ND. In March of 1981 she received a master's degree in Guidance and Counseling from NDSU, Fargo, ND. In June 1985 she received a Certification in Addiction Counseling from the State of ND. This background empowered JoAn to a career of helping people professionally throughout her life. She was a Director of Friends of the Awareness House in Bismarck, became a Counselor at ND Vocational Rehabilitation, served on the Social Service Board of ND, an Addiction Counselor Trainee in Fargo with SE Mental Health, St John's Hospital, and the VA Hospital. She became an Adolescent Counselor at the Heartview Foundation in Mandan, House Manager at the Charles Hall Youth Services in Bismarck, and Program Coordinator for the Pre-release and After-care Services at the ND State Penitentiary and in private counseling practice as "Choices", with her good friend and business partner, Diana Herner, in downtown Bismarck. JoAn was a Board Member of the ND League of Women Voters, the ND League of Animal Welfare, a Group Sponsor of Alateen, and active in church as the Children's Choir Director and a Home and School Leader. She was active in community affairs, an inveterate reader, intrigued by animals, art, music and theatre. JoAn is survived by her sisters: Judy (Don) Blower and Lenora (Willard) Werth, Hermosa, SD and her brother Wencil (Patsy) Wagner, Walla Walla, WA. Double cousins Cynthia Barstad, Kay Sorenson, and Herbert (Buzz) Bruington of Mandan, ND. JoAn is survived by her son Colby and (Kathy) Well of Mesa, AZ; grandson Wes Kampa of Phoenix, AZ, and great grandsons Kaiden Kampa (deployed); and Isaiah Kampa (Hamilton, MT); and daughter Dana and (Tom) Rolfstad, Billings, MT/Mesa, AZ, Grandson TC (Kelci) Rolfstad and great grandsons Bode and Bryson of Billings, MT. JoAn is survived by nephew Kent (Connie) Well of Bismarck, ND; niece Stephanie (John) Bennett of Walla Walla, WA, and namesake niece and kindred spirit Tiffany Jo (Bertrand) Werth of Oakland, CA. Her soul daughter, Shayla Banning of Seattle, WA and many other family and friends. A family burial has taken place at the Otter Creek Cemetery on the Wagner Farm north of Lark where she rests in peace with husband Harold, and parents Herbert and Ethel Wagner until Christ's second coming. Cemetery Details Otter Creek Cemetery on the Wagner Farm north of Lark
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