Joan Elder, 94, Overland Park
Joan G. Elder
OVERLAND PARK – Joan G. Elder was born July 8, 1928, the eldest of six children to LeRoy and Eva Moss. She passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 surrounded by her family.
She was united in marriage with Phillip Lee Elder on July 27, 1945, and three children were born to this union. They were privileged to spend 26 years together until Phil passed away in November, 1971.
Joan had a lifelong passion to develop her creative skills in many medias. Her creative discovery started at a very early age. Her parents were college educated and placed great emphasis on learning and developing their children to their full potential. Being brought up in this loving and nurturing home was a great advantage, and to Joan and her younger siblings, Joan’s mother was quick to recognize that Joan had an artistic nature. To develop her interest in art, her mother frequently gifted her “ How to Books” on the techniques and methods of art. Her mother’s encouragement lit the spark that continued to glow throughout her creative life.
Her creative talents had developed through many early phases. From being a skilled seamstress, skilled at knitting, baking and decorating wedding cakes with unbelievable detail, spenserian script, and a few disciplines that might have been left out. Each of these challenging disciplines require developing high levels of skill.
Joan’s artistic achievements had always been combined with her natural nature of being very particular and paying attention to extreme detail, while always challenging herself to achieve near perfection in her work. After taking a painting class, she was excited to find her next creative phase, which would start a quest to learn to paint more than 50 years ago. Her skills in painting were rapidly developed by taking classes from teachers who gave her the instruction she sought.
Her true passion in painting was discovered in the complicated discipline of china painting. This method is a very complex process that requires painting on china forms and then firing in a kiln. Each form required multiple repainting of images and multiple firings to achieve the intensity of color and detail desired. Most of her painted images were floral designs, but she also liked to use fruits, birds, and other subjects. She enjoyed painting these challenging and extremely detailed images on china blanks that are plates, lampshades, jewelry boxes, and one of her favorites, the beloved baby shoe, and a multitude of other china forms.
Joan always shared her talent in china painting by gifting her work to family members and special friends. The baby shoes were always a favorite, as several generations of family and extended family and special friends received china shoes, all personalized with names and the newborn statistics. She had lost track of how many that have been given, but it had to have approached near a hundred.
She also had a great love for travel, and took numerous tours to many locations across the United States. Her most memorable travel included trips overseas to most countries in Europe and Scandinavia, along with a cruise to Russia.
Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Phil; her parents, LeRoy and Eva Moss; brothers, David Moss and Joe Moss; and her sisterin-law, Berta Moss.
She is survived by her sons, Lee (Sandra) Elder of Beloit, Kansas, and Scott (Jan) Elder of Leawood, Kansas; daughter, Linda Jo Elder of St. Augustine, Florida; grandchildren, Shawn (Krystal) Elder and their children, Kaitlyn, Eva, Wayne, and Jimmy of Lincoln, Kansas; Shannon (Gardner) Vass and son Lincoln of Frisco, Texas; Ryan (Erin) Elder and children Cameron and Brady of Overland Park, Kansas, Jamie (Kelly) Elder and children, Hudson, Charlie, Madelyn, and Luke of Overland Park, and Portia (Jamie) Sims and children Trenton, Charlotte, and Hughston of St. Augustine, Florida; brother, Danny Moss; two sisters, Virginia Severance and Evelyn Adams; and her sister-in-law, Beverly Moss.
Memorial services will be at 12 PM Noon on Saturday, April 29 at the Boost Ministries, 120 N. Campbell, Beloit. Cremation has taken place & there will be no visitation. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Boost Ministry. Roberts Family Funeral Service is in charge of local arrangements.
Condolences may be left at www.robertsfamilyfs.com