When Joann Heinzmann visited Ireland in her seventies she wanted to find the place where her grandfather had been born. But she was not much of a genealogist and she and her daughter searched the town of Kilkenny in vain only to realize later that her ancestors were from Tipperary. It hardly mattered. Joann came from a family of storytellers and this was a dandy that allowed her to poke fun at herself. In any event, her deepest roots were not in Ireland. They were in Stark County, where she was born and raised on land homesteaded by that Irish grandfather; and in Metamora, where she made her life and raised a family with her husband Dick. That life came to a peaceful end Saturday, January 30, 2016 in OSF St. Francis Medical Center, where Elizabeth Joann Heinzmann died at the age of 91, surrounded by members of her loving family. Born on Dec. 28, 1924, to William and Mary Ellen "Molly" McNulty of Bradford, Joann was raised on her family's farm. Later in life she delighted in telling her children and grandchildren that she had attended a one-room schoolhouse for a year, but it was at St. John's Catholic School where she met the love of her life, Charles Richard Heinzmann. She attended St. Mary's Academy in Nauvoo, Ill., forming a lifelong friendship with the Benedictine sisters who educated her. She spent a year at Maryville College in St. Louis but left to teach kindergarten in Bradford and to marry Dick, in 1948, after he graduated from Loyola Dental School, and started a practice in Metamora. There they raised six children and Joann spent the next 65 years serving that community. She was twice president of the Metamora Women's Club and was president of the Catholic Women's League of Peoria. Driven by principles of her faith and a fair and open mind, she was long committed to public service and was a tireless supporter of Catholic education in Metamora and Peoria. She was a founding board member of the Snyder Village Retirement Community. Helping build the community-owned retirement center was one of the great passions of her later life. She served on the Snyder Village board for more than a decade and moved there a few years after her husband died in 1988. She is survived by her children, Margaret Mary "Peggy" (David) Ekerdt of Kansas City, Mo., Ann (Edward) Komm of Morton, Jane (Joe Driscoll) Genzel of East Peoria, Barbara Heinzmann of Gobles, Mich., Charles Richard (Laure) Heinzmann II of Metamora, David (Alicia) Heinzmann of Oak Park, Ill.; ten grandchildren, Molly Ekerdt, Gretchen Ekerdt, Joseph (Katy Best) Genzel, Carl Genzel, Megan (Mark) Hull, Courtney (Kyle) Kamm, Charles Richard (Katie) Heinzmann III, Addison Heinzmann, Francis Heinzmann, Andrew Heinzmann; and four great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother William McNulty and a sister, Margaret Mary McNulty. A Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 10:30 am at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Metamora with Father Bill Vollmer officiating. Scripture service will be held at 4:00 pm with visitation to follow until 7:30 pm on Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at the church. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Metamora. Memorials may be made to St. Mary's School, Metamora or to Snyder Village Retirement Community. Online condolences at www.masonfuneralhomes.com.