March 17, 1937 – July 26, 2025
Joan McCallum, 88, of Hawkeye, died Saturday, July 26, 2025, at Nation Cottage, Western Home Communities, in Cedar Falls.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM, Friday, August 1, 2025, at the United Methodist Church in Hawkeye. Interment will follow at Bethel Cemetery, rural Hawkeye. Visitation will be held from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM, Thursday, July 31, 2025, at Becker & Son Funeral Home in Hawkeye and for one hour preceding services at the Church on Friday. Memorials may be made to the family which will be distributed to Joan’s favorite charitable organizations.
Joan Patricia, daughter of Ted and Dorothy (Martin) Latham was born March 17, 1937, at the family’s home, rural Alpha. She graduated from Alpha Consolidated School in May of 1955 and continued her education at Upper Iowa University in Fayette, earning a degree in English. While at Upper Iowa, Joan met Curtis McCallum and the two were united in marriage on May 29, 1958 at the Little Brown Church, near Nashua. Joan began her teaching career at Garnavillo, followed by Fayette, Benton and Center Point. She would further her education at the University of Iowa, earning an MS in Library Science. Joan returned to Benton Schools in 1966, serving as the Librarian until her retirement in 1995. Upon retirement, she and Curtis traveled full-time, spending a majority of their time in the Southwest, specifically Apache Junction, Arizona. Through their travels they became members of SKPs which is a group that also shared the same love of travel as they did. In 2004, the couple bought a home in Hawkeye but would continue their travels. Joan was a member of the United Methodist Church in Hawkeye and the Hawkeye Garden Club. She enjoyed gardening, was an excellent cook and baker (famous for her grape pies), and was very artistic and creative.
Joan is survived by her son, Curt (Laurie) McCallum of Cedar Falls; grandson, Nik McCallum of Waterloo; step-granddaughter, Brandie Davidson of Fort Worth, Texas; two great-grandchildren, Draven and Saphira McCallum; sister, Susanne Moser of Cedar Rapids; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Curtis; sister and her husband, Charlotte (Maynard) Klemp; and brother-in-law, Clete Moser.
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