Joan Margaret Barger
February 18, 1949 ~ June 24, 2010
Joan Margaret Barger, 61, of Cedar Rapids, died surrounded by her loving family on Thursday, June 24, 2010, at the Dennis & Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, Hiawatha. Funeral Mass: 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, by Rev. Philip Thompson. Visitation: 3-9 p.m. Monday at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids, with a vigil service at 4 p.m. Inurnment: Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Cedar Rapids. Survivors include her son Jordan (Christina) Barger; her daughter, Danielle Barger; former husband, Michael Barger, all of Cedar Rapids; an uncle, Vinnie Keegan of Ryan, Iowa; two grandchildren, Clayton and Lucas; her cat, Ralph; and many friends, including a lifelong friend, Linda Yeries of Cedar Rapids. Joan was born February 18, 1949, in Cedar Rapids, the daughter of Bernard and Dorothy (Keegan) Willard. She married Michael Barger on July 20, 1974. They later divorced, but remained good friends. Joan worked for Toyota Financial Services the last eight years. She enjoyed playing cards, going to movies, and spending time with her grandchildren. Joan was a lifelong member of St. Patrick Catholic Church and belonged to the Catholic Singles Group. She was preceded in death by her parents; and a grandson, Jaylan Michael Jones. Joan's family extends a sincere thank you to the staff at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy and to Dr. Ghosh and his staff for the excellent care and compassion provided to her during her illness.
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Joan, I know you are in heaven looking down on us all here. I want you to know that with every breath I take I will be missing you, until we meet again.
With all my LOVE Ranie.b
Joan was a wonderful person. She was always positive and she is a true inspiration to everyone. I will miss her.
I will always remember Joan with a smile. I will really miss such a beautiful person she was inside & out.
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Joan was an Angel sent from above to show us how life should be lived. She was a special person and we will miss her. My Prayers and thoughts are with the family at this time. Joan will be missed at work and I will miss hearing I apperciate ya.
Love you Joan
I’m so sorry for your loss. Joan was a wonderful person & will be missed by many. I am thankful she is now pain free and in the hands of the Lord.
My heartfelt sympathies go out to the family. Joan will be greatly missed. She was the most sincere and wonderful person I ever knew. I too, will miss hearing her say “Appreciate ya”. God Bless this wonderful lady.
Joan, I’ll miss your wonderfull attiitude. It never changed during this last battle you fought. Heavens gain is our loss. The Lord couldn’t ask for better Angel. ‘Preciate ya!
Joan, I will remember you always. My life benefited from having you in it. You were one of the sweetest, most sincere people I have met. You considered everyone else before yourself, you always told everyone how much you appreciate ya. Want you to know I appreciate ya, I am sure many will agree.
Joan, on the day you were born, there were tears of joy and happiness. Your family rejoiced at the miracle of YOU being given to them! Holding your hand in theirs, knowing how blessed they were at the amazing love that God had bestowed upon them!!!!
You have lived life in such a full an amazing way. Blessing so many people with your laughter, kindness and filling each of us with your gentle tender loving soul that is only JOAN. : )
As you graduate Earth, and go onto Heaven, where Jesus will welcome you with open arms I know that embrace will be the most warm and beautiful hug you will have ever received ! The angels will be singing and rejoicing your family before you will be having a welcome home party for you! Such an incredible day that will be…
Here there may be tears because we miss you, but the ultimate gifts of your love, joy and laughter will never leave us. I have to thank you so very much for being the most amazing and beautiful woman I have ever known! And thank you for being my Mom, and loving me when I have needed you the most in these last few years.
Courtney also thanks you for being her Grandma, and sharing her music and movies with her. You have taught her so much! We love you with all that we are!
Tell my Mom hello for me when you get to Heaven, and we will see you when it is our turn to meet you there…
Love always and forever!
Beckie McDoiugal & Courtney DesForge
Joan was truly a wonderful, caring person. Always had a smile and took the extra effort to smile at me at mass or say hello when she could. I will miss seeing her at mass.
Larry and I were part of a renew group at her home and she was a gracious host. She cared so much for her family.
The Good Lord will now take care of her as she joins her grandson in heaven.
My deepest sympathy to the family. Joan will be greatly missed. She was a positive influence on all who knew her and always took a personal interest in others. I feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to know her these past years.
Joan was a special friend who celebrated everyone’s life’s journeys. I enjoyed watching you dance through life. She taught me so much especially “appreciation”. Appreciate you Joan Thank you for your friendship. Love Mary “Pat”
Joan Bug, you will be missed by so many for your laugh and smile. “Appreciate Ya” has a whole new meaning for me. No one will ever take the place of our Joan. You were truely one of a kind and can never be replaced. An angel of God has gone home to watch over all of us here left on Earth.
Joan you were a true friend and I will miss you every day. But I know we will meet again someday. Love Orva
My sympathy goes out to Joan’s family. Joan will be greatly missed. She was so sincere,inperational, and a wonderful person. I will miss hearing her say “Appreciate Ya” no matter what you asked. God Bless Joan’s family at this difficult time.
I met your mom only a couple times when with her family having brunch. I am so sorry
for your loss but glad she didn’t have to suffer long. I pray for your family.
Joan, You always made everyone feel special. I will never forgot you and your beautiful smile!
Nobody could light up a room with their laughter like Joan. We’ll miss you my friend.
Joan, where do I begin? You were everyone’s “work mom”. And I was lucky enough to be on the same team as you during my time at Toyota. I missed you so much when I left. I know God is taking good care of you and I will see you again. Love you and “appreciate ya so much”.
Dancing
Joan loved to dance. She always kept me informed of where the best places were and what time. This one time we drove all the way to the Casino in Hills, not to gamble but to dance. We got all dressed up and danced the night away.
We had a great meal and went home. Joan new how to enjoy life’s offerings.
She will be missed.
Joan was my classmate throughout St. Patrick’s grade school and LaSalle High School. Though quiet at first glance, she had a quality worth seeking. In later years I would often see her at church gatherings, and know she lived a good life. Joan is well remembered.
Joan, what an eternal light for everyone who was blessed to know you. Always a smile and a hug for everyone. Your endless joy and positivity was contagious to everyone you touched. Not a day went by without us all hearing how much you “‘preciate cha”. Heaven has been blessed with another beautiful angel. We love you.
You were a very special lady, I too will always remember you saying “I appreciate you”, you touched my heart in a very special way, I will always be thinking of you.
My deepest sympathy in the loss of such a beautiful lady. I will always remember how she ended her calls with “appreciate ya!” She was special and friendly, even to those who barely knew her, like myself. God Bless.
To the Barger Family,
I knew Joan from working at Toyota as a security officer for a year. She was so friendly and cared so much about everyone.
May God give all of you His comfort, peace, and graces during this time.
Joan, we will miss you dearly, but God will take great care of you, and we will all be reunited one day.
Joan,
I am forever grateful for your love, friendship & support as we shared the honor and the miraculous experience of being “Grandmas to our little Angel Boy, Jaylan.
I can only imagine the joy of your heavenly reunion with him… and I’m betting he has reserved a front row seat there just for you!
ML
Joan was a truly wonderful woman, but you knew that already. The time that I spent with her at TFS certainly will has already impacted my life significantly and will continue to affect the way that I approach the world every day. I’m so terribly sorry for your loss. The streets of heaven, however, are filled with rejoicing to have Joan home.
Joan you were one in a million, and I am so fortunate to have known and loved you. You could make anyone smile, just by being yourself. Thanks for the great memories, and I know you are now safe, pain-free and comfortable among the other angels in heaven. We will truly miss you my dear.
“Have the best day ever”
Joan just made your day by the little things she did like greeting you in the hall or listening to her talk to customers. You always felt this genuineness about Joan. My life is better just by knowing Joan the short time that I got to spend with her at TFS. She has been missed at TFS for a while. But now she’s busy making heaven an even better place!
Joan, I will never forget your never ending smile and cheerfulness. I haven’t been able to help anyone else fulfill 2 of their livelong dreams. The first one when I got my convertible, we went for a ride around work making sure you got to wave at anyone you knew, then later we were able to go for a road trip in it to see friends in Davenport…what a great time we had chatting all the way there and back. The second ‘dream’ was when you rode on a motorcycle with a friend of mine. I certainly don’t always appreciate the little things like you ALWAYS did. My condolences to your family in their time of loss. YOU WILL BE GREATLY MISSED.
I went to Grade School at St Pats and High School at LaSalle with Joan and I knew back then that she was special. Although I haven’t seen Joan since 1970, I will always remember her as a quiet and unassuming lady who had a penchant for laughter and a zest for life. She will be missed by all who knew her. My deepest sympathies to her family and many friends.
I grew up down the street from Joan and went to St Pats school with her. She was the nicest kid in the class…always kind and compassionate to her classmates. The community lost a shining light with her passing.
So sorry for your loss, I enjoyed going out to eat and getting to know Joan.
We did not know that Joan was ill, so it was a shock to hear of her passing. Joan had a smile that lit up a room and always had something positive and uplifting to say, even when life gave her hard times. It was a joy to have shared time with her, even if it was just bumping into one another at Tommy’s after Mass on Sundays. She was a good lady and she will be missed.
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