tap, ballet and acrobatic lessons, first into Red Oak and later to Omaha. Juanita also made all of Linda's recital costumes.
Glen and Juanita purchased a farm two miles west of Red Oak in 1957. This was a wonderful opportunity for the family, but it took Linda out of her comfort zone at country school, and introduced riding a school bus and going to town school!! It was a bit of an adjustment and Juanita spent a lot of time consoling Linda! As time went on, Juanita worked for her brother-in-law, Wilbur Bower, at his restaurant, the Sky Way, for a few years and then she was offered a job at J.C. Penney. She worked at Penney's for about 20 years and at home constantly. Her house was always clean and ready for company. She would allow a party of kids at nearly any time; slumber parties, after game parties and she and Glen provided bonfires and hayrides many times. Always fun.
While in Red Oak, Juanita was active in the United Methodist Church, UMW, Mother's Club, Monday Club, Summit Hill Club, and was a 4-H leader. Later on she became a great fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Kansas City Royals. On May 3, 2016, she was surprised to hear the Royals announcers wish her a happy 100th birthday!
May was birthday and wedding month. Both of their birthdays and anniversary were in May, and then Linda and Ronnie were married in May of 1968. The showers and wedding planning caused Juanita a lot of work, but she handled it all. The only thing she didn't handle well was when she became a grandma and had to share holding her grandchildren!! Grandma and Grandpa Bower loved their time with Scott and Rhonda. Grandpa always had four-wheelers or horses to ride and Grandma always had goodies for coffee time. She baked and decorated many beautiful birthday cakes and made a lot of clothes for us. There was never a dull moment with the grandchildren between bonfires, horse drawn wagon rides, sand piles and the play house.
When Glen was bedridden, Juanita took care of him at home for four years. She literally gave up her time for him and wanted it no other way. On January 12, 1991, Glen passed away and Juanita continued to live on the farm. In 2008, she sold it to Roger Carlson who graciously allowed her to stay on the farm until she decided to move. In 2010, Juanita moved to Auburn, NE where she lived in her own apartment for seven years. September 4, 2017, she was taken to the Nemaha County Hospital with stomach pains. On September 8 she was moved to the Good Samaritan Center in Auburn where she passed away on November 12, 2017.
Juanita was preceeded in death by her parents, brother Carl, sisters Vada Bateman and Willadean Johnson, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, nieces Sharon Powers and Colleen Billings. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Ron Jones of Auburn, NE, grandchildren Scott (Amy) Jones of Aurora, NE, Rhonda (James) Cooke of Shawnee, KS. Great-grandsons Cale and Cameron Jones and Koby and Carson Cooke, brother-in-law Dr. Tom Johnson, Sidney, IA, a niece, several nephews, friends, and extended family Bill and Ida Dixon and family.
To read the full obituary, please click here: http://www.nblfuneralchapel.com/memorial.asp?mem_id=1586