Joanne was born on February 2, 1928, to Margaret Stewart Niehaus. Hoanne's father, Francis Christie Niehaus, had died a few months before she was born, so Joanne's family consisted of her mother and her two year old brother, Charles. as a widow with two toddlers, Margaret was struggling to work and raise them, and then the Great Depression hit. Margaret entrusted her children to St. Mary's Orphanage in Nauvoo, Illinois, so she could go to work, and she would visit them on Sunday's. Joanne and Charlie stayed in the orphanage until they were in elementary school, then moved with their mother to several cities as she pursued her working career. As a consequence, Joanne attended 8 different schools in 12 years. But she was always determined to make the best of things, and learned at a very young age to make friends wherever she found herself.
When she was a senior in high school in a suburb of Washington DC, her mother encouraged her to take the civil service exam in order to qualify for government employment. WWII had just ended and Joanne got a job in the secretarial pool on Capitol Hill. She was promoted to work in the office of Claude I. Bakewell, a member of the house of Representatives from Missouri, and later for Chester A. Chesney, a member of the House from Illinois, who was a former football player for the Chicago Bears. One high point for Joanne was the day she and several of the secretarial staff were invited to the White House and had ea with Bess Truman.
Joanne was a long time member of St. Luke Catholic Church and a devoted volunteer with the Little Sisters of the Poor at the St. Augustine Home for the Aged. She served as president of the St. Augustine Home guild for two terms. she was a Dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Joanne is survived by her children, Sally (Allen) McGee, Agnes Hall, Margaret Dillon and Katie (Bobby) Robinson, Dr. Francis (Liz) Dillon and Vincent Dillon; 12 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren also survive. She was preceded by her first husband, Dr. John F. Dillon and by her second husband, Arthur Sullivan, and daughter-in-law, Sharon Dillon.
Family and friends will gather on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 4-7 pm in Leppert Mortuary-Nora chapel, 740 E. 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 11 am at St. Luke Catholic Church, 7575 Holiday Dr. East, Indianapolis, IN. You are invited to visit the website www.leppertmortuary.com to share a personal memory of Joanne or arrange a memorial contribution to St. Luke Catholic Church.
When she was a senior in high school in a suburb of Washington DC, her mother encouraged her to take the civil service exam in order to qualify for government employment. WWII had just ended and Joanne got a job in the secretarial pool on Capitol Hill. She was promoted to work in the office of Claude I. Bakewell, a member of the house of Representatives from Missouri, and later for Chester A. Chesney, a member of the House from Illinois, who was a former football player for the Chicago Bears. One high point for Joanne was the day she and several of the secretarial staff were invited to the White House and had ea with Bess Truman.
Joanne was a long time member of St. Luke Catholic Church and a devoted volunteer with the Little Sisters of the Poor at the St. Augustine Home for the Aged. She served as president of the St. Augustine Home guild for two terms. she was a Dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Joanne is survived by her children, Sally (Allen) McGee, Agnes Hall, Margaret Dillon and Katie (Bobby) Robinson, Dr. Francis (Liz) Dillon and Vincent Dillon; 12 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren also survive. She was preceded by her first husband, Dr. John F. Dillon and by her second husband, Arthur Sullivan, and daughter-in-law, Sharon Dillon.
Family and friends will gather on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 4-7 pm in Leppert Mortuary-Nora chapel, 740 E. 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 11 am at St. Luke Catholic Church, 7575 Holiday Dr. East, Indianapolis, IN. You are invited to visit the website www.leppertmortuary.com to share a personal memory of Joanne or arrange a memorial contribution to St. Luke Catholic Church.
Joanne was born on February 2, 1928, to Margaret Stewart Niehaus. Hoanne's father, Francis Christie Niehaus, had died a few months before she was born, so Joanne's family consisted of her mother and her two year old brother, Charles. as a widow with two toddlers, Margaret was struggling to work and raise them, and then the Great Depression hit. Margaret entrusted her children to St. Mary's Orphanage in Nauvoo, Illinois, so she could go to work, and she would visit them on Sunday's. Joanne and Charlie stayed in the orphanage until they were in elementary school, then moved with their mother to several cities as she pursued her working career. As a consequence, Joanne attended 8 different schools in 12 years. But she was always determined to make the best of things, and learned at a very young age to make friends wherever she found herself.
When she was a senior in high school in a suburb of Washington DC, her mother encouraged her to take the civil service exam in order to qualify for government employment. WWII had just ended and Joanne got a job in the secretarial pool on Capitol Hill. She was promoted to work in the office of Claude I. Bakewell, a member of the house of Representatives from Missouri, and later for Chester A. Chesney, a member of the House from Illinois, who was a former football player for the Chicago Bears. One high point for Joanne was the day she and several of the secretarial staff were invited to the White House and had ea with Bess Truman.
Joanne was a long time member of St. Luke Catholic Church and a devoted volunteer with the Little Sisters of the Poor at the St. Augustine Home for the Aged. She served as president of the St. Augustine Home guild for two terms. she was a Dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Joanne is survived by her children, Sally (Allen) McGee, Agnes Hall, Margaret Dillon and Katie (Bobby) Robinson, Dr. Francis (Liz) Dillon and Vincent Dillon; 12 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren also survive. She was preceded by her first husband, Dr. John F. Dillon and by her second husband, Arthur Sullivan, and daughter-in-law, Sharon Dillon.
Family and friends will gather on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 4-7 pm in Leppert Mortuary-Nora chapel, 740 E. 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 11 am at St. Luke Catholic Church, 7575 Holiday Dr. East, Indianapolis, IN. You are invited to visit the website www.leppertmortuary.com to share a personal memory of Joanne or arrange a memorial contribution to St. Luke Catholic Church.
When she was a senior in high school in a suburb of Washington DC, her mother encouraged her to take the civil service exam in order to qualify for government employment. WWII had just ended and Joanne got a job in the secretarial pool on Capitol Hill. She was promoted to work in the office of Claude I. Bakewell, a member of the house of Representatives from Missouri, and later for Chester A. Chesney, a member of the House from Illinois, who was a former football player for the Chicago Bears. One high point for Joanne was the day she and several of the secretarial staff were invited to the White House and had ea with Bess Truman.
Joanne was a long time member of St. Luke Catholic Church and a devoted volunteer with the Little Sisters of the Poor at the St. Augustine Home for the Aged. She served as president of the St. Augustine Home guild for two terms. she was a Dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Joanne is survived by her children, Sally (Allen) McGee, Agnes Hall, Margaret Dillon and Katie (Bobby) Robinson, Dr. Francis (Liz) Dillon and Vincent Dillon; 12 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren also survive. She was preceded by her first husband, Dr. John F. Dillon and by her second husband, Arthur Sullivan, and daughter-in-law, Sharon Dillon.
Family and friends will gather on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 4-7 pm in Leppert Mortuary-Nora chapel, 740 E. 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 11 am at St. Luke Catholic Church, 7575 Holiday Dr. East, Indianapolis, IN. You are invited to visit the website www.leppertmortuary.com to share a personal memory of Joanne or arrange a memorial contribution to St. Luke Catholic Church.
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