JoAnn M. Wrage

JoAnn M. Wrage, 92, of Gladbrook, formerly of Grundy Center, passed away on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at Westbrook Acres Nursing Home in Gladbrook. 

A visitation and funeral service were  held on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the American Lutheran Church in Grundy Center. Burial was at the Lincoln Township Cemetery in rural Grundy Center.

JoAnn M. Wrage was born Jan. 10, 1934, to August and Grace (Rozevink) Steinmeyer. She was raised on the family farm northeast of Grundy Center. She attended country school at Lincoln No. 4, and Grundy Center High School.

After high school, she worked at the Spokesman Press. In 1960, she married Cecil Wrage. They had three children—Jeffrey, Nathan, and Randy. They later divorced, and she returned to work at the Spokesman Press and cleaned houses. She moved to Grundy Center and lived there until health issues necessitated a move to Independent Living in Gladbrook, where she lived for the last eight years, with her last six days being spent at Westbrook Acres in Gladbrook.

Throughout her life, she worked hard, with her faith and family being her main focus. She was a long-time member of the American Lutheran Church in Grundy Center, where she taught Sunday School for several years. She maintained large gardens, canned, and cooked every meal on the farm, and was a meticulous housekeeper. Her only vanity was her hair—she had it done weekly!

She also enjoyed having "the girls" over for coffee, snacks, and cards after she retired, and offered rides to those who were no longer able to drive.

She will be missed by her extended and immediate family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Alvin Dean (in infancy), August, and Marvin, sisters Ann, Mary, and Barbara, son Jeffrey, and ex-husband Cecil.

She is survived by her brother Jim, sisters Alice, Rozella, and Wonda, sons Nathan (Jennifer) and Randy (Amy), grandchildren Angela (Maruf) Ablaberdieva, Tyler, Jake (Alley), and Luke, great-grandchildren Merganjon, Lola, and Imran Ablaberdiev, Jaxson, Watson, and Evelyn Wrage, and Ridley and Ryden Wrage.