LOUDONVILLE: Joann Marlene Utterback passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at the age of 88 in OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital.
Joann was born on April 17, 1936, the middle of five children, to parents Irvin and Hazel (Minard) Mumper in Loudonville, Ohio. She graduated from Loudonville High School with the class of 1954 and, a few years later, married Kenneth W. Utterback on February 11, 1956. The pair were married for 69 years, raised three children together, and celebrated living a wonderful life together.
After high school, Joann was ready to pursue a career as a flight attendant until she was seriously injured in a car accident, from which she was not supposed to survive. After a full recovery, not without its challenges, she began working at the Ohio Theater in Loudonville. At the time, her father Irvin owned and operated the theater, and Joann helped book movies, run the projector, and do everything else essential to running the business.
As Joann and Kenny’s family continued to grow, she found herself babysitting for others around the neighborhood, and they began considering starting a full-time daycare in the house on E Main St, which they outgrew. They purchased the old Red and White Store on E Haskell Street and opened a full-service 12-hour Daycare Center. At one point, the daycare had an average of 70 children daily and seven employees.
After an economic decline, Joann and Kenny opened the Video Plus rental store in Loudonville. After owning and operating the store for 5 years, they decided to sell the store. Not long after, Joann’s sister Jean, a kindergarten teacher at McMullen Elementary, asked her to help with her class. After several years of volunteering, she was hired as a teacher’s aide and retired in 2011 after 15 years.
In her spare time, Joann enjoyed traveling across the US, including Hawaii, Canada, and Nassau and the Panama Canal. She was active in the Zion Lutheran Church and the Mohican Historical Society and assisted Kenny as the local liaison for the Flxible International Bus Owners Association.
She is survived by her husband, Kenneth Utterback; her children Marlene (Dave) Brown, Pamela Smith, and Michael Utterback; her grandchildren Aaron (Samantha) Bishop, Kaylee (Patrick) Pountney, Kent (Katie) Utterback, Karee Utterback, and Kacee (Dan) McCartney; her great-grandchildren Miles Bishop, Freya Bishop, and Millie Utterback; her brother Larry (Karlye) Mumper; her brother-in-law Wayne Wachtel; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her infant grandson, Kevin Utterback, and her siblings, Jean (Paul) Kauffman, Mary Lou Wachtel, and Elaine (Bill) Vastine.
A Celebration of Life will occur on Thursday, March 20, 2025, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Snyder Funeral Home- Lindsey Chapel, Loudonville.
Contributions in Joann’s memory may be made to Zion Lutheran Church at the funeral home.
Snyder Funeral Home- Lindsey Chapel is honored to serve Joann’s family and encourages you to share a memory or condolence with them at SnyderFuneralHomes.com.
Funeral Home: Snyder Funeral Home- Lindsey Chapel
Website: Snyderfuneralhomes.com