Graveside services for JoAnne Gaston, 85-year-old Buffalo resident who passed away Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at the Amie Holt Care Center in Buffalo will be held Friday April 18 at 11:00 a.m. in Willow Grove Cemetery with Pastor Scott Lee officiating.. Donations in JoAnne’s memory may be made to the Bethesda Worship Center at 5135 Coffeen Ave. in Sheridan, Wyoming 82801. Online condolences may be made at www.harnessfuneralhome.com
JoAnne Marie Gaston was born on May 10, 1939, in Mullen, Nebraska the only child of Robert and Mary Anna (Cordis) Boeh. The family lived on a place northeast of Thedford, Nebraska for several years. JoAnne boarded with her grandparents in Thedford while attending grades one and two at Thedford Elementary. The family purchased a ranch five miles north of town during her third grade and she and her mother lived in town that winter while the house was being remodeled and they moved to the country in the Spring. In November of 1950 they purchased the Harry George property near Thedford and that was their home for many years.
Joanne graduated from Thedford Grade School in 1952. She received the DAR History Award, which thrilled her immensely as she was an avid student of American History. She graduated from Thomas County High School in May of 1956. As a result of taking two years of Normal Training and one year of Professional Training she was issued a Nebraska Teaching Certificate valid for one year. She then taught school at Elsmere, Nebraska District 101 for two years. She then taught at Dist. 136, Cherry County for four years. She also taught at Seneca, Halsey, and her last four years at Thedford Elementary for a total of fourteen years. She taught school in the winter months and attended summer school at Chadron State College during these years.
She was a teacher’s aid and substitute teacher for the next ten years. She also worked as a motel clerk at Arrowhead Lodge for many years for Robert and Alberta Oatman. She was married on June 25, 1967, in Thedford to Thomas J. Gaston and they made their home on the family ranch east of town. Besides her own work, she spent many hours working outside. They enjoyed vacation time in their RVs traveling the U.S. and Canada. In October of 1997 they held a ranch sale and retired to Pinedale, Wyoming which they both thoroughly enjoyed. JoAnne’s dream had always been to clerk in a gift shop, which she did for several years in Pinedale. In 2002 they both worked in Grand Teton National Park. In 2003 they moved to Custer, South Dakota for four years. She worked at a “Walk in the Woods” for one year at Palmer Gulch. In 2007 they moved to Dubois, Wyoming, where they lived for two years before moving back to Custer in 2009. JoAnne worked at the Museum of Woodcarving except for the summer of 2012 when they decided to be adventuresome and worked in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In May of 2015 they moved to Buffalo, Wyoming to spend their retirement years.
JoAnne belonged to the local extension club and Federated Women’s Club for many years. Early in 2003 she was initiated into PEO at Pinedale. She was a member of the Bethel Assembly of God Church in Thedford and the Lighthouse Assembly in Hill City, South Dakota. In Thedford she was the leader and teacher of the Missionette Program for young girls for nine years. JoAnne gave her heart to the Lord on Easter Sunday in 1952. Her favorite hobbies and pastimes included reading, traveling, writing long letters to relatives and friends and involvement at church
She is survived by her husband Tom Gaston of Buffalo; aunts Marjorie Barent, Maxine Finney Charlotte Miles and Jessie Van Schoyck and several cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents.
