Joan L. Lewman

Joan Loree Backes Lewman Shelley passed away Saturday, October 25th 2014 at the home of her son in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines surrounded by her loving family and friends.

A funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, November 25, 2014 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Merlin Building. Interment will follow at Hawthorne Memorial Gardens. Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.

Joan was born November 20, 1931 in Alturas, Modoc County, California to Ira Phillip Backes and Theresa Loree Boyd Backes. The oldest of four children, her siblings are Karen Carton, Evelyn Bruner, Ira Phillip Backes Junior.

Joan spent most of her young life in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Her family moved to Grants Pass, Oregon in 1945 when Joan was a freshman in high school where she met her future husband Glenn Allen Lewman. She graduated from Grants Pass High School in 1950 and attended one year at SOCE (Southern Oregon College of Education). Joan and Glenn Lewman were married the 5th of March, 1952 in Grants Pass, Oregon. They were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. They were blessed with one son, Glenn Allen Lewman, Jr and adopted William Lewman when he was two years old.

Glenn joined the United States Air Force and made a career of it, thus living in various locations. While in the Philippines Joan took a class in pattern grafting and made clothes for her family. She enjoyed and taught swimming at the base pool. Joan was also a great cook entering and winning blue ribbons for her bread at the state fair in Sacramento, California.

Joan was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She had many callings in the church but her favorite was teaching the adult Gospel Doctrine Class. She went on a mission to the Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City. As a result, she gathered family genealogy and had a lot of temple work done for her ancestors. Her family meant a lot to her and she tried to keep in touch with her children, grandchildren, brother, sisters, cousins and many nieces and Joan was often generous with her time and finances recognizing the needs of others and graciously helping them out when she could.

Joan is survived by her two sisters, Karen Ray Backes Carton and Evelyn Dawn Backes Bruner; her two sons, Glenn Allen Lewman Jr (Ruby) & William Lewman; her 7 grandchildren, Apple Chandey Lewman, Glenn Allen Lewman III (Valeri) , Crystal Brook Lewman Foutz (Jed) , Jeremiah Lewman (Rachel), Rachel Lewman, Samantha Lewman, Caleb Lewman; and 8 great grandchildren; Bram, Epiphany, TJ, Rex, Natalie, Collin, Rowan and Melody. She was preceded in death by her first husband Glenn Allen Lewman and her second husband Stanford Joseph Shelley, her parents and her brother.