Obituary

Joan (Jo) H. Sloan, age 97, died peacefully at her home in Des Moines on December 4, 2024.

She was born on February 20, 1927, in Chillicothe, Missouri to Margaret and Erv Harriman. Her brother Richard was born four years later. The family moved to Corydon, Iowa where Jo lived until moving to Fort Madison, Iowa in 1949. She attended Ward Belmont College and the University of Iowa. Jo met Chet Sloan in Fort Madison and they were married in 1951. Their daughters, Margaret (Meg) and Elizabeth (Beth) were born in 1952 and 1954 In Fort Madison, where the family enjoyed the next 18 years, moving then to Des Moines, Iowa in 1972.

Jo was a life-long learner and entertainer, collecting antiques, reading, playing rummikub and bridge, and was a member of P.E.O. She also had a lifelong passion and tenor voice for singing.

She was a consultant and district manager for 40 years with Doncaster, a women’s tailored clothing company out of North Carolina. She traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad.

The Episcopal church was an anchor in Jo’s life and she was involved everywhere she lived and travelled, centered for the past 50 years with St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Des Moines.

Jo’s greatest joys, however, were with her family, including with Paul Meginnis, her life partner for the last 20 years, her daughters and their spouses, three grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, as well as entertaining with her multitude of friends.

Jo was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Chet (46 years), and her brother and sister-in-law, Dick and Evie Harriman.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 4, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, 815 High Street in downtown Des Moines.

Memorial contributions can be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral Memorial Foundation, or to ASPCA, or St. Jude Memorial Foundation.




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