Joanne Rose Hamous Walrath's Obituary
JOANNE ROSE HAMOUS WALRATH
Joanne Rose Hamous Walrath, 83, passed away peacefully October 15, 2020. She was born November 28, 1936 to Ladislav James and Vlasta Liskovsky Hamous in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She grew up with a talent for singing, playing the piano and a passion for dolls, She graduated from Franklin High School where she performed in school plays and sang opera.
She met her forever love, Howard Walrath at a dance. They married August 21,1955 after Howard returned from his Army Service in the Korean War. Joanne worked at University of Iowa while Howard attended there on the G.I. Bill and earned his BS in electrical engineering. After graduation he started his long career working for Collins radio, In 1972, Howard, Joanne and their two sons transferred to Richardson to head the Rockwell/Collins division. After Howard retired, they built their retirement home among other pilots with the same love of flying and desire to live where they could have their airplanes in the garage.
Joanne was a dedicated homemaker and enjoyed singing in the church choir, gardening, and crafting. From the time as a young girl in Iowa, her favorite pastime was rescuing and restoring dolls, Over the years, she had an extensive collection and loved sharing her story with local community groups. She was extremely proud her family's Czechoslovakian heritage and crafted hand-made traditional costumes for herself and several of her dolls. Joanne and Howard lived life to the fullest, They loved to travel, often in their plane, taking cruises to exotic places, and boating locally on Lake Texoma.
Joanne is preceded in death by her parents, and husband Howard. She is survived by her sons, Craig and Brian. Daughter-in-law Martha, in Iowa, her Brother Don and sister-in-law Irene, and many other family members.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Joanne's name to the Scholarship Fund at:
Czech Heritage Foundation. P.O. Box 8476, Cedar Rapids, IA 52408,
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