Jo Haffield, 83, of Winner, SD passed away on Thursday, August 8th, 2024, at the Winner Regional Healthcare Facility in Winner, SD.  Funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 17, 2024, at 11:00AM at the Winner Methodist Church in Winner, SD.  Burial will follow at a later date.  Visitation will be held one hour prior to funeral service.

Jo Ann (Nebola) Haffield was born on April 22, 1941, the first of six children of Ed and Helen Nebola. She grew up on a farm south of Gregory. During her high school years, she worked at the Tasty Shop and boarded with Rassmussens, the owners of the ice cream business.

Whether she was the student or teacher, education was always an integral part of Jo's life. She graduated from Gregory High School in 1959 and then attended Northern State where she earned her two-year teaching degree in 1961. Her first job was in Mitchell, SD, where she taught fifth grade. She then moved to Winner to teach fifth grade in 1962. In 1966 she was one of four new kindergarten teachers in the Winner School District, as this was the first year for the kindergarten program. At the time, classes were held at the First Christian Church. She taught kindergarten for three years. By this time, she had her two children and decided to start a preschool in the basement of her home. When she made the decision to continue her career in public education, she needed a four-year degree.

She began working for Community Connections (then known as Adjustment Training Center). This job provided her time to resume her education during the summer program at Northern State.  She graduated with her full teaching degree in 1978. Jo then taught first grade at Winner Central Elementary. Just like the legendary Johnny Appleseed, who was the focus of her reading contests for many years, Jo planted seeds of knowledge as she continued in her career. She later decided to again continue her education and earned a masters in counseling from the University of South Dakota. Jo became the elementary counselor at Winner Elementary where she stressed the importance of the six pillars of character with Character Counts. She stayed in this position until her retirement in 2006. One of Jo's former students commented that she always made each of her students feel special. To this comment, Jo replied, "If you can do that, they will learn in spite of anything else. I didn't always reach each kid, but I loved all of them."

Jo also enjoyed her extra jobs which she held in the summer and later during retirement. These jobs included hotel reservation clerk, custodian at the Winner United Methodist Church, and the education director at the church. The job with church education was very special to her because it combined two important aspects of her life: education and her faith.

Jo married Vernon Haffield in 1962 in Gregory, and they had two children: Jerry and Julie. They later divorced. She was always quick to brag about her children and later her four grandchildren. She enjoyed spending time with her granddaughter and three grandsons. She was also blessed with one great granddaughter.

During her free time, she enjoyed sewing, which also provided a supplemental income when she was younger. She sewed many of her children's clothes and was very proud to be the seamstress for Julie's wedding dress which featured many ruffles. She also sewed all of the bridesmaids' dresses for the wedding. Jo also loved to crochet and made several afghans. Baking dozens and dozens of kolaches was her favorite activity at Christmas.

Her alter ego, Rosie Montefalco, became a part of Jo's life when she performed in the Opal plays with the Winner Community Playhouse. Jo created a bodysuit and had a selection of clothing that she donned to perform as Rosie on stage and at other events outside of the Playhouse. Jo collected jokes that she would tailor for a special event and always talked about Rosie's meatball stand.

Jo was a leader for Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls and a member of the Winner Methodist Church, P.E.O. Chapter AM, Order of Eastern Star, ZCBJ/Western Fraternal Lodge, the Winner Community Playhouse, and the Tripp Co. Historical Society.

Jo is survived by her son, Jerry, and his wife, Pam, of Sioux Falls and her daughter, Julie, and her husband, Ryan, of Colome. Her grandchildren include Morgan Haffield and her daughter, Daniella Sponsler, of Philadelphia, Michael Rohde (Brittney Evans) of Colome, Justin Haffield (Kate Marchand) of Sioux Falls, and Zane Rohde of Colome. Other survivors include her sister, Virginia Kingsbury, of O'Neill, NE; her brother, Ed (Sharon) Nebola, of Gregory; special cousins, Marlene Hoppes and Carol Kindlesparker, Indiana; and a host of nieces and nephews.

Jo was preceded in death by her father, Ed Nebola; her mother, Helen Karl; her stepfather, Rudy Karl; her sister, Helen Hoffman and husband, Don; her sister, Fran Lake, and husband, Mike; her brother, John; sister-in-law, Julie Nebola; brother-in-law, Robert Kingsbury; and special aunts and uncles:  George and Val Sebesta and Joe and Helen Maska.

Some say that it takes a village to raise a child. This is true, but sometimes it also takes a village to care for an aging parent. Mom has been blessed to have several caretakers provide care for her. We have wonderful healthcare in our community that is filled with knowledgeable and caring individuals. This includes at the clinic, home health, the hospital, assisted living facility, and the long-term care facility. We have experienced their kindness and compassion and the big one - patience. Please know that each of you has been a blessing to us.