Joan Madeline Niedballa

NIEDBALLA, Joan Madeline We celebrate the life of Joan M. Niedballa, who went to be with our Lord at age 86 on October 10, 2026 after an unexpected and brief illness. Loving wife of Frederick C. Niedballa for 66 years. Mother of the late Frederick D. (Kathy Kiefiuk), Michael, and Sandra (Jeffrey Martin). Sister of David Besko (Wilma) and the late Nancy Monette (the late Edward). Special aunt, cousin, friend, volunteer, and teacher to hundreds of preschool children. Joan worked as a child caregiver and then as a three-year-olds preschool teacher at Warren Woods Christian School, pouring her life into children for more than 30 years. After retiring she continued working with precious little ones in their homes and by volunteering for children’s story time and programs at the Sterling Heights Public Library. She was Volunteer of the Year in 2008. She loved the Lord, her family, friends, dogs and granddogs (so many dachshunds), fellow volunteers, servers, caregivers and strangers alike, consistently listening to other people’s stories and concerns, taking interest in their children, pets, travels, or worries. Joan’s faith was central to her life. She shared quietly and prayed for others consistently. She sang in early Warren Woods Church of the Nazarene Community Choir concerts and continued in her faith through Ladies’ Bible Study groups, teas and events, and volunteering for church baking day into her late seventies. She loved taking photos, lots and lots of photos, attending her children’s sports events, concerts, programs, GM Men’s Club dinners, fundraisers, golf outings, church events, and the family reunion bacon fry, always supporting and loving enthusiastically. Joan enjoyed several dear lifelong friendships and made sure her friends knew how much they meant to her. She enjoyed giving flowers, notes, and cards, sharing words of encouragement and faith and making occasions special. She loved music and attended nearly every high school concert her favorite son-in-law directed over more than two decades. The students there knew her too. She loved flowers, home grown garden vegetables, reading, crafts, and sharing children’s books and puzzles. Joan knew how to make others feel loved and made a difference for so many. We are especially grateful for her Christian faith and the beautiful way she lived her life and poured herself into others. Her daughter and son will continue to treasure Mom’s handmade Valentines. Joan and Fred met as teenagers, built a life and family together through the joy and through the sorrow, always moving forward, focusing on what is good and right and true (Philippians 4:8). Her loving relationship with Fred set an example of the everyday ways to make love last a lifetime from the early days to building a family and cheering on adult children through sports, mission trips, ministries, and careers, to the senior years when their “date times” were mostly doctor appointments, going to physical therapy together, eating lunch out somewhere at 3:00 with servers who recognized and knew them, or sitting in the car at the local park just enjoying watching others enjoy a beautiful day together. That kind of commitment and longevity will be an enduring gift to those of us who were privileged enough to see love lived out like that in the big ways and the small. In honor of Joan’s lifetime example of putting others ahead of herself, donations are welcome to Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, www.ivcinfo.org. Joan and Fred volunteered with IVC regularly for more than 25 years and she had a longtime role and special love for the annual Pasta Dinner Fundraiser as part of the small “Basketeers” group and tin can raffle committee. Consider volunteering for an event or cause near to your own heart in her honor in the days ahead. Visitation will be held on Friday, October 16, 2026, from 3-8pm with a Service on Saturday, October 17, 2026, 11am at Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons, Inc. 36900 Schoenherr at Metro Parkway (16 Mile) Sterling Heights, Michigan. Luncheon to follow. Interment to take place at Van Hoosen Jones Cemetery, Rochester Hills, Michigan. Please share memories with the family at their “On-Line Guestbook” at WujekCalcaterra.com

Joan Madeline Niedballa

May 18, 1940 - October 10, 2026