Joan Helen Hess Bogensberger peacefully passed away taken home with our beloved Lord on June 17, 2022, in Puyallup, Washington.   She was born in Larimer County Hospital, in Fort Collins, Colorado on August 18, 1939, to Eugene and Margaret Hess, one of seven children.  She followed her passions to teach and share her love of music.  While many retire, Joan never had it in her and was substituting until a couple of years ago.  While times have changed, she was a unique person who was a walking history book and would engage children in history sharing her stories and show and share items that brought it to life.  While there were years she did not work, she actively volunteered in her children's schools and other endeavors demonstrating her strong values of faith and service.  She married the love of her life, Robert R. Bogensberger on August 20, 1960, and they moved to Seattle to begin their life together.  They had three children, John Andrew, Margaret Rose, and Helen Marie in Renton, then moved to Skagit Valley, where they raised their family.

Education was very important to Joan. She graduated from Cheyenne High School in 1957 and went on to Colorado State University in Greeley, Colorado, where she completed her bachelor's degree in Music.  Joan completed her fifth year at the University of Washington after she was settled in Seattle.  When her children were in elementary school, she enrolled at Western Washington to complete her master's degree in education.  She realized her lifelong dream of opening her own private school. In every sense of the word, it was a one-room schoolhouse.  Floyd Paxton School opened at the Lazy Acres Farm and ran for over 20 years, providing excellent education to numerous kids and most of her own grandchildren spent time there.  At her school, it wasn't just about book learning; there were trips to various places around the state to learn about state history, and even included going camping.  We're sure many still fondly remember these times.

Joan worked and sacrificed to raise her children, giving them many opportunities that included private pilot lessons, European educational trips, and music lessons.  She also worked with them on the farm and ran the chicken farm on Lazy Acres that morphed into animal projects when her children were in 4H and FFA.  She always made sure they had a little money in their pocket when they went on their endeavors enabling them to have a lot of experiences that helped mold them into the adults they are.

Her children all married, and she has 12 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.  Even up to her last weeks, she continued to do little things for those important to her as she recently mailed a box of craft items to Texas to a little great granddaughter.  She took immense joy in her family and relished every phone call and letter she got, always interested to hear what they were doing.   She instilled in us all the importance of faith, family, and honoring our heritage.

Joan was preceded in death by her husband Robert in 1987, and her parents Eugene and Margaret Hess, as well as her oldest sister Mary Jean McAffee, younger brother Dale Hess and baby sister Geraldine Packard.

She is survived by her adult children John (Vanessa) Bogensberger of Spokane, WA, Margaret Dieble of Tacoma, WA, and Helen (Tom) Ashley of Marysville, WA.  She is also survived by her 12 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren: Jessica (Ty) Coyne of Waxahachie, TX and their three children, Weston, Lincoln and Brynn, Robert (Renee) Bogensberger of Spokane, WA and their son Hilaire,  Michael (Kirsti) Bogensberger of North Dakota and their children Nevveah, Evalyn, Vivian, Raphael and Olivia,  James (Hannah) Bogensberger of Bellevue, WA and their children Flynn, Ellis and Aven, and Jake Bogensberger of Spokane, WA, and Bethany (Caleb) Alcamo of Spokane, WA, and their children Theodore and Benjamin.  Also survived by Christina (David) Pastor of Granite Falls, WA and their daughter Adelina, Anastasia Ashley (Adam Zentner) of Granite Falls, WA and their son Otis, Trevor Ashley of Marysville, WA, and Philip, Thomas and Monica Dieble of Tacoma, Washington.

A rosary will be said for her at St. Mary's in Tacoma, WA Friday, June 24, 2022, at 7pm and a high mass will be held for her on Saturday, June 25 ^th at 9am with a reception to follow at the church.  There will also be a graveside service at Hawthorne Memorial Park, Mount Vernon, WA at 2:00pm where she will be laid to rest next to her beloved Robert.  May God rest her soul.

Please visit www.hawthornefh.com to share your thoughts and memories and sign the online guest register.

Arrangements are under the care of Hawthorne Funeral Home, Mount Vernon, WA.