Juanita Myrle Nordeen

Juanita Myrle Nordeen passed away on August 6, 2019, in Independence, Missouri, just days shy of her 93rd birthday.
Juanita was born on August 22, 1926 to Elmer W. and M. Irene Beitz in Muscatine, Iowa. She was raised there and baptized a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when she was eight years old. She graduated from Muscatine High School in 1944 and worked for a year at a movie theater before attending Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa. It was during this time that she met William H. Nordeen. After a year of college, she returned to Muscatine and worked for Lagomarcinos as a bookkeeper. On June 18, 1950, she married Bill Nordeen and remained married to him until his death nearly 38 years later.
Bill and Juanita had three children: Craig, Mark, and Anne, all natural redheads. They eventually moved to Davenport, Iowa, where Bill had a teaching job. Juanita was very involved with her children’s lives as they grew, serving as a Sunday School teacher, Cub Scout Den mother, PTA president, and Band and Orchestra Parents treasurer. When they were all in school, she returned to the workforce as the bookkeeper for the family business in Davenport, Nordeen’s Home Supply Company.
At the age of 61, Juanita became a widow when Bill passed away in 1988. She continued to work at the family business for several years after his death. She also put her bookkeeping skills to work as the treasurer for the local church‘s Rimoda Credit Union. She was involved in other church work, serving as a congregational women’s leader, and helping others who needed transportation or assistance. She sang with a group of women who regularly visited local nursing homes, served as an election judge for her local voting district, and volunteered weekly, reading with children at Monroe Elementary in Davenport.
In 2006, Juanita sold her Iowa home of 50 years and relocated to Blue Springs, Missouri where she lived for the next ten years with her son, Craig ,and his family. A series of falls from 2013 to 2016 made it necessary for her to become a resident at Monterey Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Independence, where she remained for the final three years of her life. There she quickly became a favorite of all the staff who worked with her because of her gentle, sunny personality.
Juanita’s favorite pastimes and hobbies included reading, crocheting, baking, and watching old movies. She also loved to travel and enjoyed many trips to visit relatives and friends in distant states and camping with her family to see many of the wonders of America.
Juanita was preceded in death by her parents, one brother, Gregory Beitz, and her sister, Joyce Swails. Juanita is survived by her children: Craig and wife, Ardyce, of Blue Springs, Missouri, Mark and wife ,Jo Laine, of Riverton, Wyoming, and Anne Beney of Florissant, Missouri; seven grandchildren: Sonrisa (Nordeen) Johnston and husband, Ian, Dorinda (Nordeen) Stayton and husband, Jeremy, Montague Nordeen and wife, Jerah, Tabetha (Nordeen) Cooper and husband, Darrell, Kristopher Nordeen and wife, Kat, Brian Beney, Meagan (Beney) Kilgore and husband, Matthew, and Muscatine “daughter” Joyce Ann Figg and family She also leaves behind a legacy of fourteen great-grandchildren: Mayli, Gavin, Elena, Sophia and Zoey Johnston, Genevieve, Madeleine, and Gabrielle Nguyen, Wyatt, Reese, and Liam Nordeen, Manley Stayton, and Adele and Elliana Nordeen,. Additionally, Juanita is survived by her brother Ronald Beitz and wife, Carol, one brother-in-law, Ken Swails, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A memorial service will be held at Speaks Suburban Chapel in Independence on Friday, August 16, 2019. Visitation will begin at 1:00 PM, with the service at 2:00 PM.
To honor Juanita’s memory, the family suggests donations to the National Parkinson’s Foundation or the American Heart Association.