Joanna Marie Dollase passed away on Feb. 26, 2022, in Clearwater, FL. Born in Wheatland, Wyoming, on Feb. 25, 1934, a five-year-old Joanna moved with her family to Buffalo, where her father, the late Rev. Gustav Karkau, answered a call at St. Paul Lutheran Church, where he served until he retired.
She met her husband of 63 years, Crome Richard Dollase, who preceded her in death on Aug. 31, 2018, at Valparaiso University, from which she graduated in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics.
They were blessed with five daughters: Kristen (William) Nevious, Karen (Steven) Dopson, Ellen (Rick) Wilcox, Ann (Douglas) Trolley, and Patricia (Ricardo) Rivera; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Over the next three decades, Mr. Dollase’s career took the family from his native Milwaukee to Chicago, New York and Syracuse. Always very active in church and community activities, Mrs. Dollase also served as director and teacher at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Nursery School while in Syracuse.
In 1995, they made their home in Sarasota, where they were active members of St. Armand’s Key Lutheran Church. There, Mrs. Dollase was one of the group of women who makes quilts for Lutheran World Relief.
Mrs. Dollase most recently resided in Clearwater, FL, near her youngest daughter and her family. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gustav and Ruth, and her sister, Ruth Dallman.
A memorial service celebrating the resurrection and the life of Joanna M. Dollase will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, at St. Armand’s Key Lutheran Church, 40 North Adams Drive, Sarasota, FL 34236. Lunch follows in the church hall.
The family requests that memorials be made to: St. Armand’s Key Lutheran Church, specifically for the quilter’s mission , here; or to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, here.
