- Date Of Birth: October 6, 1920
- Date Of Death: November 4, 2022
- State: California
Joan Marie Mathen was born on October 6, 1920 in Rochester, Minnesota to William Henry Mathen and Johanna Emilie Wilhelmina Mathen. Her parents came over from Germany in the late 1800’s. Joan was the oldest of 5, with Brother Richard, and Sisters Lorraine, Harriet and Linda. Richard, Harriet and Linda have predeceased her. She and her siblings attended Trinity Lutheran School in Rochester.
When Joan was a little girl, she and her parents lived in a cottage on the grounds of the Mayowood Mansion in Rochester. Her father William Henry Mathen worked at the Mayo Greenhouse and studied in Floriculture. She remembered when she was 3 years old seeing Dr. Charles Mayo driving her Mother and newborn little sister Lorrie, home from the hospital in a horse and carriage.
Joan first met her husband to be, Raymond at Rochester High School. She taught Sunday School and sang in the choir, and loved to draw and paint and was a talented artist. She also participated in the Jr.
On August 10, 1941, she married Raymond Carl Sonnenberg in Rochester Minnesota, and there was a reception in the Mathen backyard. At the reception Grandpa Sonnenberg played his ukulele and sang “Where is my Wandering Boy Tonight”.
Ray worked as a plumber at Defense plants and army barracks. Eventually he was drafted into the Army. When he enlisted, Joan was the volunteer who signed him up. When Ray was stationed around the country, Joan would travel to where he was stationed and she would live nearby to keep the family together. They travelled to Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Rhode Island, Georgia, Washington and California. Ray was trained as a paratrooper and was promoted to a leadership position. He suffered a leg injury during a night parachute jump, which stopped him from being sent overseas in World War II. He remained in the military and worked as a plumber until he was honorably discharged.
Ray’s parents, Albert and Lillian Sonnenberg moved from Rochester, Minnesota to Orange, California in the 1940’s. Joan and Ray moved their family to Orange in 1953.
Joan and Ray had six children, Leonard Carl Sonnenberg, Linda Jane Martinez, Larry Peter Sonnenberg, Laura Rae Cordero, Layne Stephen Sonnenberg and Lana Jo Croteau. She is predeceased by her daughter Laura Rae Cordero and son Layne Stephen Sonnenberg. Ray’s nickname for Joan was “Miss America”, but mainly he called her “Jo”. Ray’s nickname was “Rusty”, which was a good nickname for a plumber.
She was a grandmother to 12 grandchildren, Carol, Lee, Kevin, Cathy, Christy, Nanci, Jeff, Jill, Melissa, Shelly, Jenny, Alex and Camille.
She was a great grandmother to 17 great grandchildren, Shane, Carly, Jake, Calvin, Miles, Indigo, Silas, Elise, Case, Gianna, Gabrielle, Michel, Brandon, Kaitlyn, Jake, Jamisen, and Quinn.
She never lost touch with her Rochester family. They wrote many letters back and forth and had many phone calls.
Joan started working as a secretary for the vice-principal at Santa Ana High School. Later she worked as a secretary at a bank in La Mesa, CA, for an Electrical Contractor in Denver, Colorado, and as a secretary for The Art Center in Rochester, Minnesota. Ray started a used car business in Rochester, then operated a Dodge-Plymouth dealership in Rochester, and then was a car salesman for many years around the country until he switched careers and became a pipefitter at the San Onofre Nuclear Plant and Diablo Nuclear Power Plant.
They moved many, many times over the years, having lived in Minnesota, Iowa, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Missouri and California again. They said their favorite song was “On the Road Again”. Joan kept a detailed list of every home she ever lived in and would draw the floor plan of each house and indicate where all the furniture was placed.
Joan loved to travel, and after her retirement she joined the So-Lo travel club and camped all over California. She also owned a trailer in the tree-filled park in the country in Meadowbrook, California where she would go to get away from the city.
Joan passed away peacefully on November 4, 2022 at the age of 102 years old.
Joan was devoted to her family and she was loved by all.
