PRATT - Jo Ann Knop Schepmann, 91, passed away July 1, 2022, at Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital, Medicine Lodge. She was born June 15, 1931, at their farm home in rural Pratt, the only child of Edward Charles Knop and Ruby Alma (Voight) Knop. Jo Ann was baptized at their family home on July 20, 1931, as a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church. She confirmed her Christian faith on April 2, 1944, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Preston (Natrona), Kan.
Jo Ann graduated from Preston High School in 1949 and then attended St. John’s College, Winfield. She graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in 1951 with a dual major in teacher training and church parish work. She taught kindergarten and was a youth counselor and parish worker at Zion Lutheran in Hinsdale, Ill., and then taught second grade at Holy Cross Lutheran School, Fort Wayne, Ind.
On Nov. 28, 1953, she married Nathan Frederick Schepmann at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Preston (Natrona), Kansas. He preceded her in death on December 26, 2019. They were married for 66 years.
Jo Ann was a homemaker, bookkeeper, and Schepmann Farms partner. She and Nathan raised cattle and laying hens, grain crops, and sold Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds. She was a substitute teacher at St. Paul Lutheran School. She was a community leader for the Preston 4-H Club and worked part time at the Pratt County Treasurer’s Office. Jo Ann was a lifetime member of St. Paul Lutheran Church where she taught Sunday School and Midweek school and served as a volunteer church secretary for more than fifteen years. She was a 68-year member of the Bethany Guild/Ladies Aid/Lutheran Woman’s Missionary League and served in all offices. She and Nathan were founding members of the Children’s Christian Concern Society (now known as LeadaChild), and she served as the volunteer financial secretary. Through the LWML Mission of Love, Jo Ann worked with others to complete quilts to donate to those in need through Lutheran World Relief, Orphan Grain Train, and other local organizations.
She is survived by two daughters: Brenda Piester and husband, Ronald, of Coats, and Carla Boyd and husband, Calvin, of Medicine Lodge; one son, Warren Schepmann and wife, Lori, of Preston, Kan., and Westcliffe, Colo.; five grandchildren: Austin (Misty) Piester, Andrew (Megan) Piester, Christopher (Chelsea) Boyd, Sara Schepmann, and Katie Schepmann; and 11 great-grandchildren: Jackson, Lincoln, Truman, and Hayes Piester; Kylee, Addelyn, Makenna, Carter, and Logan Piester; and Charlotte and Catherine Boyd.
She was preceded in death by her parents and grandson Ryan Schepmann.
Visitation will be Friday, July 8, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with the family receiving friends from 6-8 p.m. at Larrison Mortuary, 300 Country Club Road, Pratt. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 9, 2022 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Preston (Natrona), Kan., with the Reverend Michael Schotte presiding. Burial will follow at St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to LeadaChild, Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital, Orphan Grain Train, or the donor’s choice in care of Larrison Mortuary.
The family especially wishes to thank the staff of Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital, Parkwood Village, and Maydew Thibault Optometry for their loving care for her these past several years.
Serve the Lord with gladness! (Psalm 100:2).
Funeral arrangements provided by
Larrison Family Mortuaries
300 Country Club Rd.
Pratt, KS 67124
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, July 3, 2022
