Joanna Wilken Fowler

Joanna Wilken Fowler was a longtime nurse and small business owner from the Dayton, Ohio area who spent four decades caring for patients before devoting her later years to a needlework shop in Waynesville, Ohio. <cite index="1-2">Joanna Wilken Fowler, age 92, formerly of Kettering and Waynesville, OH passed away on October 22, 2026.</cite>

<cite index="1-3">She was born on January 25, 1934 in Dayton to the late Ralph E. and Margaret J. (John) Wilken.</cite> <cite index="2-3">She was a 1952 graduate of Fairmont High School and 1955 graduate of Miami Valley School of Nursing.</cite> That nursing credential shaped the rest of her working life. <cite index="1-6">She was employed with Miami Valley Hospital for 40 years.</cite> Four decades at the same hospital made her part of generations of patient care in the Dayton area, though no further detail about her specific nursing roles has been reported.

After retiring from nursing, Fowler turned a lifelong hobby into a second career. <cite index="1-8">She was an avid stitcher and operated the Scarlet Thistle needlework shop in Waynesville.</cite> She was also active in her community, and <cite index="1-7">she was a member of the St. Mary's Episcopal Church and the Waynesville Progressive Womens Club.</cite>

Fowler's family life was anchored in the Dayton area for most of her life. <cite index="1-5">In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Elmer C. Fowler.</cite> <cite index="1-4">She is survived by her two daughters and sons-in-law, Amy and Alan Speer of Covington and Mary Beth and Tony Holt of Daytona Beach Shores, Florida.</cite>

In her final period of life she received care at a senior facility and through hospice services, and <cite index="2-7">her family thanked the physicians and staff at Piqua Manor and Ohio Hospice of Miami County for their compassion and care</cite> in the time before her death. No cause of death has been made public. <cite index="1-9">A private graveside service was planned at Beavertown Cemetery in Kettering, at the convenience of the family.</cite> <cite index="2-8">The family asked that memorial contributions be made to Ohio's Hospice of Miami County</cite> in lieu of flowers.