Jo Ann Boltinghouse

Feed Sacks to Cadillacs A well-lived 84 years after coming into this world, Jo Ann Boltinghouse passed away peacefully on Friday, March 19, 2021 while at Lake Regional Hospital, near the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. Jo Ann was given life on July 4, 1936, and was surrendered to the Salvation Army Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, where she was chosen and adopted by her parents Hazel and Millard Bennett who loved and raised the wonderful woman, we all know today. Jo would be raised with the best of values and beliefs instilled in her, which would fully prepare her to tackle life and the world that was laid out before her. While Grandma Jo was raised with the best of values, it can be said that every hero still needs a partner, and, luckily, Jo Ann would come to find her soulmate in Dr. Earl Boltinghouse, while attending Simpson college. They tied the knot on June 12, 1955, at the United Methodist Church in Tabor, Iowa. She would then go on to accomplish many things; including being an elementary teacher, writing a children’s book, and running her training center in Omaha, Nebraska working with groups like Omaha Steaks, First National Bank, and American Greeting cards. JoAnn also ran a successful Shaklee business as a lifetime master with Dr. Earl Boltinghouse by her side supporting her ability to do whatever she set her mind to. But most of all, their biggest accomplishment was the family that they raised together, one that was fortunate enough to surround and share Jo Ann’s last moments with her exactly as she wished. Having lived an incredibly full life, Jo Ann enjoyed travelling the world with her husband and touched as many lives as possible wherever she went. A person to never have a selfish thought cross her mind, Jo Ann had an uncanny ability to make each and every person she encountered feel incredibly special in their own, unique way. Jo Ann will be happily remembered and is survived by her husband of 65 years, Dr. Earl Boltinghouse and their children: Jeff Boltinghouse with his dog Sassy and sons Bennett and Maxwell, Kerry Boltinghouse and his wife Mallory and children Monty, Patrick, Elizabeth and Autumn and Jennifer Rierden (Boltinghouse) and husband Tim and children Taylor, AJ and Bailey, as well as the tens of thousands of other lives that she has touched. We all know she would not hesitate to lend a hand to each and every one of them, as she would consider them all family, just the same. Her legacy will live on through all those who loved her! Arrangements are under the direction of Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home.