JoAnn Lindblom

JoAnn (Smith) Lindblom, 83, of Caledonia, Illinois, passed away surrounded by her surviving children and her beloved Viszla dogs on November 8, 2017. Jo was born in February of 1934 in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Her parents were Lloyd and Clara (Bailey) Smith, her siblings included Mary Ellen Darvin, Ruth Gloe, Jean Henfer (living), and Roger L. Smith. Her family moved to Rockford from Wisconsin her junior year of High School and she graduated from East High in 1952. She married Ralph C. Lindblom in Rockford in 1958. She earned a Master’s degree from Rockford College. She retired from the Rockford Public Schools after serving as a Reading Recovery teacher, a Title 1 tutor, and an At-Risk-Kindergarten teacher.

JoAnn enjoyed a very active life that had included bicycling, hiking, cross-country skiing, fishing, painting, bird watching, collecting antiques, and watching her Vizslas in dog shows. She was an avid reader. With her husband Ralph, she traveled throughout Europe and into China and the former USSR, including bicycle trips in Europe; they also RVed across the North America continent with their favorite stop being Ojai, Calif. Jo had been a member of the Unitarian Church, Sierra Club, Blackhawk Bicycle Club, and Kishwaukee Kennel Club. She had been a board member of United Cerebral Palsy, and the Children's Development Center.

JoAnn's family included husband, Ralph who passed in 2012; son, Steve (Cynthia) Lindblom of Caledonia; daughters, Carri (Donald Borisch) Lindblom-Borisch of Loves Park and Tammy (Ken) Baughman of Ojai, Calif.; grandchildren, Alexis Sanchez, Arielle Lindblom, Kyle Paulson, Quinn Paulson, Cameron (Coralie) Paulson, Tom Baughman and Ashley Baughman; and great-granddaughter, Lillianna Stevens. Predeceased by daughter, Elizabeth C. Lindblom.

Family and friends are welcome to a Memorial Open House from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, November 11, 2017 in her home, 6336 Dornoch Dr., Caledonia, IL. In lieu of flowers, family requests memorials to Alzheimer’s Association.

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