Joanne Deal

Joanne Mae (Cloyd) Deal, 79, left this earth to dance with the angels on October 3, 2011 after a short fight with cancer.

Joanne was born on October 25, 1931 in Fairbury, Nebraska. She graduated from Cozad High School in 1949 and attended Doane College in Crete, Nebraska. She moved to Wyoming shortly thereafter where she met a cowboy and her soul mate in the Nobel Bar in Lander. She married Jim Deal on December 23, 1951. Together they lived a varied and exciting life, moving around the west as Jim followed jobs. Joanne and Jim moved to Laramie in 1963 so that Jim could get his teaching degree. Joanne worked a number of jobs, including the credit bureau and the Bureau of Mines, to help support the family during those years. In 1971, the family moved to Casper where Joanne retired from the Oil and Gas Unit of the Bureau of Land Management.

Anyone who knew Joanne would say that she had an eclectic set of interests: she spent the summer of 1972 at the Ecumenical Institute in Chicago where she came to understand her faith. She was later recognized as a "Silent Disciple" of the First United Methodist Church. Joanne was an avid amateur genealogist, tracing many lines of the family as far back as the eighteenth century.
After her retirement, Joanne was always busy. She was a member of many clubs and volunteered for many different organizations. She had a passion for learning and attended classes at Casper College. She loved being a part of the Red Hat Society and acting in melodramas with the Red Dog Saloon Players. One of Joanne's greatest treasures was to help others laugh.

Joanne is survived by her sister, Pat Turk (Ray); sister-in-law, Bette Cloyd; son, Larry Deal, his wife Tami Benham Deal and their son Gabriel; grandson, Michael Deal (Laura); son, Lance Deal, his wife, Nancy Deal-Whitacre and their daughter, Sarah Deal; daughter, LuDel Deal Walter, her husband Mark Walter and their daughter Erika; granddaughter, Holly Wrangell (Peter); numerous nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Jim Deal; parents, Del and Mabel (Zimmerman) Cloyd; brother, Bob Cloyd; half-brothers, Myron Caldwell and Don Cloyd.

MEMORIAL SERVICE: The family of Joanne Mae (Cloyd) Deal invites you to a celebration of her life on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 332 E. 2nd St. Casper, Wyoming 82604 with Rev. Steve Burnett officiating. This celebration will be on the 80th anniversary of her birth. Private burial services will be held.
Memorials may be given in Joanne's name directly to the Central Wyoming Senior Center, 1831 E. 4th St. Casper, WY 82601 or Central Wyoming Hospice and Transitions, 319 S. Wilson, Casper, WY 82601.