Joanne Wanda Lau Heider was received into the arms of Jesus after fighting the good fight on Monday, March 9, 2020 in skilled care at Good Samaritan Village in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Joanne was born to William H. and Selma Schliefert Lau on January 12, 1929 in Murdock, Nebraska.

She was baptized into the Christian faith on February 10, 1929 at Trinity Lutheran Church at Murdock.  She was confirmed on April 18, 1943. She graduated from Murdock High School in 1946.  She graduated from Concordia Teachers College with an AA degree in 1948 and and began teaching  at Trinity Lutheran School in Grand Island. She received her Bachelors and Masters degrees from Concordia in 1973 and 1983.  She taught kindergarten at Trinity Lutheran School from 1970-1996.

Joanne married Herbert F. Heider on June 17, 1951 at Murdock. They lived in Grand Island for the rest of their lives. They had six children. Her family remembers the six loaves of bread she would bake every Saturday, canned cherries, applesauce and rhubarb, green beans, tomatoes and corn and laundry hanging on the clothesline to dry.

She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Island, belonged to LWML, Lutheran Laymen's League, and other organizations at Trinity.

She is survived by six children and their spouses: Bill and Wendy Heider, Grand Island, NE; David and Sheena Heider, Amarillo, TX; Stan and Laura Heider, Lincoln, NE; Mary and Karl Ziegler, Papillion, NE; Ruth and Bob Armao, Indianapolis, IN; and Paula, who has lived with her mom in assisted living at Good Samaritan Village in Grand Island;  Joanne is also survived by 16 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren, and her brother, Vern Lau, of Murdock, NE.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert F. Heider; parents, William and Selma Lau; infant granddaughter, Leah Heider; daughter-in-law, Theresa Heider; infant great-granddaughter, Gabrielle; and sister-in-law, Dorothy Lau.

Visitation will be Sunday, March 15, 2020 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home.  The family invites you to join them for the committal service at 9:30 a.m., Monday, March 16, 2020 at Westlawn Cemetery.  The service will follow at Trinity Lutheran Church, 12th and Wheeler in Grand Island, at 11:00 a.m. Memorials may be designated for Trinity Lutheran School in lieu of flowers.