Obituaries

Condolences

• 10/01/2021

  Bob Stillwagon II

  Joan Stillwagon was always a dedicated mother and a great family member. She always though of others on the birthdays and special occasions. She served her family and communitys in many ways, thru out her entire life. She loved helping others and enjoyed cooking ,movies,and social events. I will always remember her smiles and pleasant ways. She really loved spending time sitting with her five grandkids and one great grandchild. You will be missed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,bless you in heaven..............Bob Stillwagon II...............................................

• 10/01/2021

  David Baptist

  My name is David Baptist, I am the oldest grandson of the late Joan Emily Stillwagon. I just want to take a few minutes to talk about what a thoughtful and loving person that she was during her 80 years of life. My Grandmother Stillwagon whom we always referred to as Grandmama was a selfless lady who always lit up the room and brought loads of joy and happiness to everyone in her family. Talking to her always made everything seem brighter. There were many things that were very important to my grandmother including participating in Eastern Star & other related groups, Girl Scouts where she was a pack leader, ballroom dancing with my grandfather, going to church and of course her friends (many of which were from Eastern Star). She was also very interested in politics and current events both here and abroad. Being a lifelong Republican she couldn’t stand Democrat politicians or labor unions. And she had a simple solution for dealing with terrorists, communist countries and other enemies of the United States which was to quite simply “Blow Them Up”! (She would say this while pointing her fingers towards the ceiling in the shape of a gun). She loved watching tv shows from the past. Some of her favorite shows were Bewitched, Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie, I love Lucy and the original Hawaii 5-0. In her later years she enjoyed watching Dancing with the Stars having done so much dancing with her husband Bob when she was younger. She also really liked old horror movies, my grandfather told us that he would often take her to a late night drive in horror movie and fall asleep in the car while she watched it from start to finish. After her and my Grandfather moved to the assisted living facility in Fremont at the beginning of 2011 I always enjoyed going to visit them in the evening. My Grandmother was always very happy to see me and would more often than not want to watch Bewitched which was probably her favorite TV show of all time. Both her and my grandfather

• 10/01/2021

  Jim Baptist

  I am, Jim Baptist, the son-in-law of Joan Stillwagon! From the time I first met her she loved me and didn't mind me dating her daughter, Joan. She was always focused on the family and on holidays together! One day when I decided it was time to propose to my future wife, I contacted Bob and Joan about taking them out the the Cook Book Restaurant and talking with them about my relationship with their daughter. Well Joan Sr. (I better label her that so we don't get mixed up) seemed all excited and tickled about it, especially the fact that it was to be a secret because Joan Jr. didn't know about it yet. Actually the whole house was stirred up and had to hide it somehow. Well, of course they gave me their permission to marry her and have loved me the rest of their lives. Joan Stillwagon sure has been a great mother-in-law and has broken the nasty stereotype that our culture has pinned on them. She was always there to babysit our kids when we went out on special and not-too-often dates. Her and Bob made sure they were good and spoiled when we picked them up. They have been bountiful gift-givers to their grand-kids and to us. On big holidays we all eat on fine china and gold flatware that Bob and Joan gave us. When they buy us clothes they never go to Marshall's or Penny's or cheap places like that. Joan Sr. always looked the happiest during the Birthday Song. She also loved to see you eat. She always offered some of her portion of more from the kitchen when she saw you slow down at the table. I am thankful to her for her gift to me of her daughter for my wife. It is fun hearing stories of Joan Jr.'s childhood, especially the songs her mom sang and cute things her mom did to give her and her brother and sister a fun childhood. We have work do on holidays now that Joan Sr. isn't here to keep every ingredient in each special day. We inherited some wonder pictures from the past to brighten up our home. It has been a wonder time being a part of Joan's f

• 10/01/2021

  David Baptist

  Speaking of cars & other methods of transportation I should also add that my Grandmother was a huge fan of the Jetsons cartoon and anything connected to space travel or life in the future. The idea of flying cars or cars that could drive by themselves (which are now being developed and tested by Google & other companies) fascinated her. If there were spaceships offering trips to Mars or the moon she would probably be the first person in line. So long as a return trip back to earth and her family was included. There are tons of things that I will miss about my Grandmother Stillwagon now that she is gone. I will really miss being able to talk to her, show her my photographs, watch tv shows or movies and have tea with her. I will miss the fond “Hello David, how are you, so good to see you” I will miss her kind words and the love & happiness that she always showed towards everyone in her family. She was always thinking of others even at the end of her life when she was really uncomfortable and in lots of pain. During her last few weeks of life when she was so often either sleeping or flailing around uncontrollably she would still occasionally snap out of it for a minute, notice me and say “Hi David, how are you, nice to see you, congratulations on your job, love you” I have many wonderful memories of my Grandmother Stillwagon going back 28 years or so. While her passing is an extremely sad event and a significant loss for this family I am glad that she is no longer in physical pain from Parkinsons disease. I have no doubt that she is now dancing on a cloud somewhere with my grandfather to the music of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Dean Martin and other great singers of the past who she enjoyed listening to. She will always be remembered with much love and affection.

• 10/01/2021

  David Baptist

  My Grandmother loved birthday parties and all major holidays including Easter, Independence day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Year’s and especially Christmas. She would be as happy and excited on birthdays and Christmas as any 10 year old kid. For her no birthday was complete without a really large helium balloon and a fancy cake with dozens of flickering candles on it. When it came to either birthdays or Christmas she would get quite upset if what my grandfather was giving me and the other grandkids did not come wrapped in a big box with nice fancy bow. An envelope with cash was not an acceptable alternative to a present. Her second favorite holiday behind Christmas probably was Easter. As recently as Easter of 2013 she was at our house helping to prepare dinner and dye Easter eggs. She would always declare me to be the Official Easter Bunny insisting that I take charge of dying the eggs. In her book none of her grandkids regardless of age were too old to have an Easter basket. My Grandmother & Grandfather were both very good cooks and when it came to birthdays or holidays there was nothing my Grandmother liked doing more than cooking a large, traditional Sunday dinner. It was always a Huge turkey for Thanksgiving along with homemade mashed potatoes, carrots and gravy (there was also a turkey on Christmas Day), followed by ham on Easter and corned beef with cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. Each meal usually came with homemade iced tea. My grandmother always insisted upon helping my mom with cooking or dishes at family dinners even after she was basically wheelchair bound. My grandmother liked to sing especially if the song was either happy birthday or Christmas carols. She also liked traditional Christian church hymns. My Grandmother had a good sense of humor but like everyone else she would sometimes get irritated over something (that something usually involved food like her dinner not being hot enough or her eggs being overcooked). I lived with my grandparent