She was born in Carroll, Iowa on September 20, 1938, the daughter of Milford C. Bundt and Ethel M. (Dillavou) Bundt, and grew up on a farm near Lanesboro, Iowa.
Joan attended a one-room schoolhouse in Lanesboro, and graduated from Glidden-Ralston Consolidated High School in Glidden, Iowa in 1957. She then attended Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa and Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky.
The Bundt family was very close friends of the Mitchell family, and it was through that family friendship that Joan would meet her future husband, David Lloyd Mitchell, at a very young age. Even today, David recalls playing in a sandbox at the age of six with a five-year-old girl who would become his future bride. At the encouragement of one of Joan’s sisters and one of David’s, they began dating in the 1960’s and were married in September of 1968. Their son, Warren, was born in the summer of 1969; and their daughter, Carmen, was born in 1971.
David served for close to two decades in the U.S. armed forces, and as a Navy wife, Joan and her family lived in numerous places in the U.S. and abroad. It was during the most recent assignment at the Brunswick, Maine, Naval Air Station that Joan and David met many close friends in Maine and grew to call Lisbon Falls their home.
Joan worked in the medical supplies field at Red Bird Mission’s hospital in Beverly, Kentucky; Jones Clinic in Munster, Indiana; and at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Maine; and also assisted with Rock of Ages Prison Ministry in Cleveland, Tennessee. She served in numerous capacities for many years at Lisbon Falls Baptist Church, including singing in the choir, as part of small groups, and sometimes solos. She played the piano, and also taught young children in Sunday School classes. She and her husband served as the church’s Word of Life youth group leaders, and she was a monitor at Lisbon Falls Christian Academy during the school’s early years. Her primary vocation, though, was that of wife, mother, and homemaker. In all of her roles, Joan spent much of her time taking care of others; and whether part of her role or not, she was adept at spotting a need, large or small, that she would quickly fill - often quietly, and always unselfishly.
Joan is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, David Mitchell; their son, Warren Mitchell; their daughter, Carmen Rose and her husband, Stanley Rose; granddaughters Brianna, Kasandra, and Alexis Mitchell and Alison Rose; grandson Nathan Rose; great-grandsons Oakley and Coleman Merrill and Landon Sutherland; great-granddaughter Zoey Sutherland; sister Geraldine Scholtens; brothers Duane Bundt and Vernon Bundt; and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her sister, Anita Jones; her brothers, Romayne Bundt and David Bundt; and her parents.
A memorial service will be held at Lisbon Falls Baptist Church on Friday, May 31, at 2:00 PM. Burial and a graveside service will take place at a later date at the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Augusta, Maine. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations may be made to Lisbon Falls Baptist Church.
Arrangements are under the care of Crosman Funeral Home | 40 Main Street Lisbon Falls, ME 04252
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