Joan Mohan, 81, of Grinnell, died at UnityPoint Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Grinnell on Monday, February 6, 2023.

A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 am on Monday, February 13, 2023, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Grinnell with Rev. Scott Foley officiating. Interment will be at Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell. A luncheon will be held in the Parish Center of the church.

Visitation with the family present will be held from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm on Sunday, February 12th at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell. A scripture service will be held at 1:30 pm in the Heritage Room of the Smith Funeral Home prior to the visitation.

Memorials may be designated to St. Mary Catholic Church or to Poweshiek County Democrats and mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, IA 50112. Memories and condolences may be shared with Joan's family online at www.smithfh.com.

Joan was born to Joseph and Henrietta Haslinger in Brooklyn, New York on August 23, 1941, the third of ten children. She grew up in Greenbelt, Maryland, near Washington D.C. Her father was a career Navy officer with assignments worldwide and in the Pentagon. Early in her career Joan's mother was a ballerina who operated a school of dance and elocution.

Joan received a Bachelor's degree in History from Trinity Washington University and a Master's degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University. She taught high school history for four years in the Baltimore suburbs, where she met John Mohan. They were married on October 22, 1966.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, John and Joan lived in Ithaca, New York while John pursued a PhD at Cornell University, and in 1971-72 they lived in the Soviet Union while he did research at Moscow State University. In 1973 John was hired to teach Russian Literature at Grinnell College, in Grinnell, Iowa. Joan worked as a substitute teacher in Grinnell schools until the birth of her son, Jake (John Paul) in 1976. Her son Joseph was born in 1981.

In 1983, Joan became the Director of Grinnell College's Reading Lab, where she spent nearly four decades helping students strengthen their reading, studying, and English-language skills until her retirement in 2019.

Joan was an active member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, the Poweshiek County Democrats, the League of Women Voters, and the Grinnell Gardening Club. After her husband's death in 2003, Joan continued to live in their Elm Street home until 2019, when she moved to the Mayflower Community.

Joan is preceded in death by her husband John Mohan; her parents, Henrietta and Joseph Haslinger; her brother, Rev. Joseph T. Haslinger, Jr.; her brother, John Paul Haslinger; and her sister, Mary Haslinger Rogers. She is survived by her sons Jake Mohan (Amanda Mohan) of Minneapolis, MN, and Joseph Mohan (Beth Skopp) of Chicago, IL; granddaughter Elliott; and siblings, Henrietta Bradley, Robert, Nancy, Henry, Thomas, and Andrea.