Joanne Jacobi Tedesco

Joanne Lily Jacobi was born November 26, 1939 in Marengo, Iowa at the farm home of her parents Robert and Fannie Duda Jacobi. Joanne was delivered by Dr. Nathan B. Williams of Belle Plaine who charged $25.00 for the house call and delivery. Welcoming her were big sister Joyce and brother R. Dean.

As a youngster, Joanne was anxious to learn. In fact, once she slipped out of the house and snuck off to school. A neighbor caught her and returned her home-she was only four years old! So, she taught herself to write numbers by copying them from a calendar. When the time came to go to school, Joanne attended Franklin School in Belle Plaine. The family also belonged to the Little Heralds of Presbyterian Church there.

The family moved to Boone, Iowa in 1947. Joanne attended Lincoln School and then Boone High School graduating in 1957. In high school Joanne became a member of the National Honor Society. During her senior year of high school Joanne began working for the Iowa High School Athletic Association, a job she continued after graduation.

Robert and Fannie Jacobi divorced and Fannie married C. G. "Peck" Hutchinson. Peck also brought three children to the family: Delores, Joyce, and JoEllen.

On September 15, 1957, Joanne married Frank Earl "Ted" Tedesco, Jr. at the First Presbyterian Church in Boone. Ted was a senior at Iowa State University at the time and the couple moved to Ames where they still reside. The union produced two daughters: Tami Sue born May 25, 1962 and Tari Ann born March 10, 1964.

Joanne has been very active in the Ames community. During the 1960s and 1970s she was a member of the Ames Jaycettes and the March of Dimes. She has also been involved with Republican Women of Story County and has held positions at Northminster Presbyterian Church, where she is still a member today. Joanne has also worked outside the home for pay first for D. D. Pyle Accountants and then for KnappTedesco Insurance Agency, Inc. the company Ted and Joanne own. In the early years, Joanne worked at Knapp-Tedesco for no pay to help buy the company.

In 1972, the Tedescos moved to an acreage north of Ames. The girls attended Gilbert school and Joanne was elected to the Gilbert School Board in 1979 and was president of the Board in 1983. Joanne has remained active in the Gilbert education system and was recently asked to rejoin the Board temporarily to fill the position of a member who resigned.

In addition to outside activities Joanne is a very loving and dedicated mother. She is an accomplished seamstress and made many outfits for her daughters. She supported Tami and Tari in their musical and athletic endeavors and attended more than her share of dog and horse shows! She never pushed but always encouraged her daughters not to give up on activities.

Although Joanne and her sister Joyce are five years apart in age, they have become very close. Joanne has always supported her sister including keeping Joyce's six month old daughter when her sister was in the hospital (her own daughters were four and two at the time and the family was in the process of moving). Today the two sisters talk frequently and travel together, most recently visiting relatives in the Czech Republic.

Today, Joanne Tedesco works occasionally at Knapp-Tedesco and volunteers at Mary Greeley Memorial Hospital. In her free time she enjoys traveling and visiting her children and grandchildren: Tami lives in Colorado with husband Steve Johnson and sons Joshua and Tyler; and Tari lives in Wisconsin with husband Don Gulbrandsen and son Kendal.

Submitted on 7/1/96