Joan Sargent

March 18, 1937—September 4, 2019 Joan Marlyn Sargent passed away Sept. 4, 2019 at her home north of Kimberly. She was born in Ainsworth, Nebraska on March 18, 1937 to parents Charles (Chuck) and Eunice Patterson, also from Nebraska. She and her three brothers, John, Bob and Lyle and parents moved to Burley, Idaho in August 1949. She graduated from Burley High School in 1955. Joan met the love of her life, William (Bill) Sargent while in high school through the Methodist Church’s Youth Fellowship group they attended together. The two were married April 22, 1956 and enjoyed 63 years together. Joan and Bill had a farm east of Murtaugh, in the Milner area, where they raised three children, Raymond (Ray), born in 1957; Carol, born in 1958; and Steven (Steve), born in 1959. Joan had her hands full raising three children, helping on the farm, raising a garden, canning and freezing fruit and vegetables, and sewing clothes for the family. Joan had a deep Christian faith, evidenced by the way she raised her children and her activities in the Murtaugh Methodist Church where she taught classes while her children were growing up. After the Murtaugh church was combined with the Kimberly Methodist Church, she continued to be active. When her church built the Crossroads United Methodist Church on north Main Street in Kimberly, Joan served on the building committee. After the church was completed, she painted faux stained-glass inserts for the chapel’s south windows. Shortly after Joan married, her in-laws, Estle and Mabel Sargent, gave her a painting set. Although Estle, who was an artist trained at the Kansas City Art Institute, helped her get started, Joan was mostly self-taught. Starting with oils, she learned to use a wide variety of mediums including acrylics, watercolors, colored pens, and black and white scratchboard. She was very accomplished, and a long-time member of the Magic Valley Art Guild. Joan served as superintendent of the art building at the Twin Falls County Fair for many years. Her latest showing was with the Art and Soul competition last May, where her work was awarded third place in her category. Last year her entry placed first in its category. Once Joan and Bill’s children were grown, they started square dancing every week, and danced for 35 years, making wonderful friends in several states. In retirement, Joan taught herself to use a computer because she didn’t want to be left behind by the rest of the world. She learned to do bookkeeping, layout and design (often incorporating her artwork), word processing and spreadsheets. She scanned all her photos and put them in CD albums. She also wrote and produced a cookbook full of rhubarb recipes, with proceeds donated to her church. She was asked to illustrate another cookbook of recipes from local women published several years ago. Joan is preceded in death by her parents and son, Raymond. She is survived by her husband, Bill; son, Steve (and wife, Linda), of Logan, Utah; her daughter, Carol Huether (and husband, Randy) of Kimberly; brothers John Patterson (and wife, Judy) of Kimberly, Robert (Bob) Patterson (and wife, Diana) of Wenatchee, WA, and Lyle Patterson of Pahrump, NV; 7 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great grandchild, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 at Crossroads United Methodist Church in Kimberly. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the church and designated for their stained-glass project.