Joanne Dobson Obituary

Joanne Elizabeth (Howe) Dobson of Ramona, Ca passed away on March 29, 2024, Good Friday. She was the beloved wife of Johnny, cherished mother to Bill, Bob and Nona; and joyful grandmother of Hank, Emma and Sam.Joanne was born in the Blue River Valley town of Randolph, Ks on March 24, 1931. She was the fifth of nine children born to Clarence Blythe "C.B." Howe and Ruth Elizabeth (Kennedy) Howe. She had one sister and three brothers older and, one sister and three brothers younger. She spent her youth here where her father managed the local lumberyard and her mother was a homemaker. They raised chickens for meat and grew much of their food in a garden. She helped care for her maternal grandfather, who lived with them following a stroke in his final years, and might have begun her lifelong journey of compassionate care for the elderly. Joanne loved her youth in Randolph and showed a sense of loss when speaking about how circa 1950 the Army Corp of Engineers moved the town to accommodate the development of Tuttle Creek Dam. As often as possible she took her family to visit this area of her old town. When the water was low, she showed the exact location of where their home stood. On one visit, the water level was so low, she found a piece of the limestone foundation, a cherished treasure.Joanne attended grammar and high school in Randolph. Her grammar school had two grades per room and one teacher. Students lined up by grade outside and started the school day by entering the building to the beat of John Philips Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever, played on a crank type Victrola. They all loved the last day of school, when the entire family came to celebrate with a potluck dinner, all-day track meet, ball games, sack races and relay races. In grammar school Joanne started a "library" in her town where all had access to and shared books. In high school, she took mostly science classes, played all sports including basketball, played the trombone in the school band and, sang second soprano in the school choir. She was one of four students who played Pomp and Circumstance on the piano at graduation. She and her classmates worked hard to save money for their "senior sneak". They announced their destination by making a covered wagon from a hay wagon and painting "Colorado or Bust" on the sides and parked it in the town square on the night they left. To earn her money during middle and high school, she sold cottage cheese, milk and butter that she and her mom made, babysat, cleaned houses, laundered the high school football team uniforms. In the 8th grade she began her favorite job, the local telephone operator where she would say "number please", move a cable to a plug on the switchboard and, connect the call.Following high school graduation, Joanne looked forward to attending training at Stormont-Vail School of Nursing in Topeka, Ks. One-way streets, bus rides with tokens, and living with strangers were all new experiences for her. Stormont-Vail instilled in her a life-long passion for nursing, the well-rounded care of a patient, habits of strict cleanliness and proper procedure that she would use throughout her nursing career. She often spoke of how proud she was of her accomplishment and the honor bestowed her on graduation day as she carried her nurse's lamp walking into You'll Never Walk Alone being played and received her nurse's pin. Several classmates became lifelong friends, some of which, she cared for in their later years.After graduation, Joanne and a classmate drove out to California to visit Joanne's sister. While visiting they found employment in doctor offices, shared an apartment and stayed in the land of ocean breezes and orange trees. Joanne later went to work at the Hospital of The Good Samaritan in downtown Los Angeles. At "Good Sam" she had many famous patients, including a young Robert Wagner. Years later she would still smile as she recalled meeting and caring for him. One gorgeous weekend she and several other nurses visited her sister at a duplex in Compton, Ca. That same weekend, a car load of sailors visited a young husband and wife in the other half of the duplex for a barbecue, as they often did. The wife's younger brother was one of the sailors and as Joanne would tell it, the nurses peaked out the window when the sailors got out of the taxi and stated she would take the "tall, skinny, bowlegged one", the one who liked football and loved his country. After they courted, Johnny Henry Dobson of West Point, Ms, insisted she meet him downtown at a jewelry store after work one day and he proposed. They set a wedding date and, as luck would have it, the Navy changed Johnny's orders and the wedding was moved up to October 2, 1955. Their marriage lasted nearly 60 years until Johnny's passing in 2015.Shortly after their marriage Johnny's ship was assigned to Yokosuka, Japan. Sailing on steamship, Joanne joined him. Her tales of being small town Kansas girl in post-War Japan always entertained her family. The time she got off the train at the wrong stop and the doors closed before Johnny could get off with her, leaving her stranded until he could return on the next train back was a favorite. Returning to the States in 1958 they drove across the country visiting family before arriving to a duty assignment in Stillwater, Ok. Joanne appreciated this duty station as it provided many opportunities for visits with her parents and Johnny's mom. It was here that Joanne gave birth to their first child, William Blythe. In 1960 they were reassigned to San Diego and lived in Paradise Valley, near Naval Station San Diego. Their second child, Robert Alan, was born during a routine deployment and Johnny was notified via telegram. In 1962 they moved to Ramona, Ca, the beginning of a 62-year residency. Their third child, Nona Ruth was born. In 1967 Johnny and Joanne bought three acres in Ramona and built a house where they would spend the rest of their lives. In addition to raising their three children in this home, they tended to 4H animals, built a small business, and had a place where anyone was welcomed at any time.With her children in school, Joanne took a nurses refresher course and went to work at Palomar Memorial Hospital in Escondido, Ca. She worked nights, leaving home after getting everything ready for the next day and wishing her children a good night. She returned in the morning just in time to see her children on to the school bus or stop at their classroom for class mom duties. After several years she moved to a day shift position. She retired from Palomar after nearly 20 years and two total knee replacements. She loved her assignment to Tower 8, a floor with elderly patients, and the nurses she worked with. She continued to get together with many of them for years after they worked together.Joanne was always there to support her family and learned how to do many things as Johnny's business, Pullet Express, grew and expanded. She contributed countless hours to Pullet Express and her most visible contribution was her freehand drawing of the famous pullet on roller-skates, which became the well-recognized logo of the business. Joanne, along with Johnny, supported many organizations in their community. She cooked hamburgers at the Little League snack bar, oversaw Halloween picture painting on storefront windows along Main Street, drove Boy Scouts to camp and a one-ton flatbed pick-up loaded with caroling Girl Scouts, attended countless football, basketball games, track meet; and, many PTA and Booster Club meetings. Joanne believed she was given the gift of nursing, compassionate caring and understanding. In her retirement years she used these traits at an adult day care center, privately with individuals who reached out and, in joining the first Stephen Ministry training class at her church. She learned to quilt and enjoyed the camaraderie of classes she attended and quilting bees she joined. She never considered her quilts being "very good" or "quilt show worthy". Her retirement years became even brighter with the arrival of three grandchildren, Hank, Emma and Sam. She loved reading to them, baking cookies for (and with) them and celebrating anyone's birthday or the holidays with them. After they moved to Texas in 2016, she would send a monthly "grandma" box for several years and filled them with treats, such as Halloween donuts.Joanne was a selfless and caring wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, friend and confidante. A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00pm, Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the First Congregational Church, 404 8th St., Ramona, Ca, 92065. A reception will be held in Pilgrim Hall immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests spending time with an elderly person whether it be as simple as holding a door open for them, running an errand for them or sharing stories over coffee or lunch.