Joan Elizabeth Cain Lashley, age 92 (However, she adamantly reported it to be 29.) of Gering, passed away on Saturday, May 7, 2022, at Heritage Estates in Gering. Her Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10am on Monday, May 16, 2022, at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Mitchell with Fr. Mike McDonald as Celebrant. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Morrill. Visitation will be on Sunday, May 15, from 5-7pm at the church with a Rosary Service at 6pm. It is respectfully requested that in lieu of any flowers, memorials in Joan’s honor be made in care of the church or Scotts Bluff County Foster Grandparent Program. Online condolences may be made by viewing Joan’s memory page at www.jones-mortuary.com. Jones Mortuary in Mitchell is entrusted with arrangements.
She was born July 18, 1929, in Minneapolis, MN to Thomas D. and Frances E. (Sexton) Cain. She had 13 siblings: Thomas (dec), Mary Timmins (dec), Fr. Joseph (dec), Agnes (Mickie) Scott (dec), Frank (dec), Teresa (Terry) (dec), Edward (dec), Catherine (Kay) Brown (dec), Helen Hardesty (dec), Patricia Larson, James, Margaret Cain, and Dolores (dec).
Joan lived in rural Minnesota until age 8 when the family relocated to Ft. Dodge Iowa. The family moved to Ottumwa, IA when she was age 13. When she was age 15 the family returned to Minneapolis, MN where she finished her high school education at St. Anthony of Padua Academy.
In 1948 she moved to Nebraska at the request of a friend whose sister needed a teacher for their one room school in Sioux County. She attended Chadron State College completing the Teacher Certification course. She met her husband, John Melvin Lashley, Jr. (called Melvin) while teaching his younger siblings in Sioux County. They first met when he came to the school to repair a broken window. They were married August 9, 1949.
They were blessed with nine children: Phyllis (PJ), John (Joan), Lawrence (Larry), Mary McClaran, David (Regina), Elizabeth (Beth) Mozer (Dick), Sandra Wagner (Mike), Pamela Sweeney, and G. Joseph (Mary Lou). They lived North of Lake Minatare until 1966. That year Melvin died in a car accident on February 18th and the family moved to Mitchell.
In 1971, she completed her Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) Certificate and began her career in nursing. In 1973, the family then relocated to Gordon, where they lived until 1979 when they moved to Alliance. In 1985 Joan moved to Oklahoma City to finish her Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) from OSU Technical Branch in Oklahoma City. Starting in 1987 she began her experience as a travel nurse. This took her to various parts of the country from coast to coast.
In 1999 she returned to Nebraska and lived in Lyman. It was at this time she began volunteering as a Foster Grandparent in the area school systems. This was a position she greatly enjoyed. She worked as a volunteer Foster Grandparent until 2019. She had many hobbies. She enjoyed sewing, embroidering, and crocheting for her children and grandchildren. She had an intense interest in music having studied at the McPhail School in Minneapolis. She taught lessons on the piano, guitar, accordion, and voice for several years.
She is survived by her nine children, 19 grandchildren and 46 great-grandchildren, one great-great grandchild and one brother and two sisters.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, four brothers and six sisters.
