Joan C. 'Joni' Axel

JOAN C. AXEL MUSCATINE, Iowa - Joan C. 'Joni' Axel, 73, of Muscatine, passed away on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, at Unity Point Hospital. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 5 p.m. at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery at a later date. Visitation will be held on Saturday, February 17, 2018, from 2 until 5 p.m., at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Muscatine Charities. Joni Axel was born Joan Caroline Patton on December 9, 1944. Her parents were Joe and Isabelle (Hull) Patton. She grew up on the family farm outside of Weaver, Iowa. Joni married Roy (Bill) Watson in 1965. They had two children, Tracey and Chris. Bill Watson died in 1983 of leukemia. She later married Ron Axel in 1991. In high school, Joni played in the band. She played just about anything from the triangle to the xylophone. She also played the guitar, clarinet, the piano, and sang in church and the organ. She went to business school in Burlingotn after high school. She worked for H.J. Heinz for many years and then for the Muscatine Community School District for 21 years, retiring in 2003. ...[more]

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Joni loved to travel, to play board and card games, to dance, and to sew. She also loved the outdoors, her flowers, music, and her animals. She made many quilts and afghans for family and friends. She was a wonderful cook and no one ever left her home hungry. She loved to be in the yard with her flowers and was an avid Hawkeye fan. What gave her most joy in life was her family. Those left to honor her memory include her husband Ron; a sister Francie Troutman (Dick) of Burlington, Iowa; a brother David Patton (Teresa) of Loveland, Colorado; children, Tracy Gilleland (Rick) of Dacula, Georgia, and Chris Watson (Kathy) of Muscatine; step-children, Emily Goddard (Ryan) of Muscatine, and Joe Axel (Kim) of Phoenix, Arizona; grandchildren, Jacob, Bryson (Melissa) and Brade Gilleland, Zak (Ashley), Kaleb and Jensen Watson, Clara Clayton, and Margaret Goddard; and two great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her first husband, Bill.