Delores Joan Gilmore, 86, of Linden, Iowa, was born June 6, 1932, and died Saturday, June 23, 2018, in Madrid, Iowa. A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 26 at the Murdock Funeral Home in Perry. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until service time at the funeral home. Burial will be at a later date.
Joan was the first of three children born to Virgil E. and Grace A. (Germer) Booth in Boone County, Iowa.
The family moved to Washington Township in Dallas County, where they remained throughout Joan’s early years.
In her youth, she enjoyed life on the farm and the outdoors.
She attended Washington Township School, where she enjoyed playing basketball. During that time, she also met a classmate who would later become her husband.
Rolland Gilmore and Joan were both graduates of the class of 1950 and went on to wed in November 1951. Their union lasted 66 years until Rolland’s passing in 2018. To this union, six children were born.
Joan was a devoted mother and farm wife. She truly enjoyed watching her daughter play softball and basketball and would always make time for the boy’s activities and band concerts.
In the 1980s, while in her 50s, she went to college and worked towards an accounting degree.
After graduating, she worked at ALCO in Perry for more than 20 years.
She enjoyed mushroom hunting with her son Gary and also enjoyed time with him at Prairie Meadows. After Gary’s passing, she would often accompany Matt and Summer to Prairie Meadows.
Joan was preceded in death by her parents, Virgil and Grace Booth; her brother, Jack; her husband, Rolland; her son, Gary; and two daughters, Cherie and Cheryl at birth.
Left to cherish Joan’s memory are sons, Alan of Linden and Wayne of Iowa; daughter, Gail of Indiana; grandchildren, Matt (Summer) Gilmore of Perry, Amanda Gilmore of Rippey and Anthony McCain of Grand Junction; brother, Virgil K. Booth of Perry; brother-in-law, Francis (Cathy) Gilmore of Perry; dear friend and caregiver, Dawn Carey, and her husband, Mike, of Panora. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews and many other family and friends.
Memorials and condolences for the family may be left or mailed to Murdock Funeral Home.
I worked with Joan at Alco and grew up with her kids. She was a lovely lady,
LuAnn Little
Sorry for your loss. Joan was a great lady. –Deb Sheeder
I worked with Joan at Alco for more years than I care to count. We always were able to do lunch and make the bank runs for the store. I’ll miss her more than words can say.