Jo Anne Bainter, 80, of Winner, SD passed away on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at the Winner Regional Health Care Facility in Winner, SD.
Funeral services were held on Friday, June 15, 2018 at 2 p.m. at the Winner United Methodist Church in Winner. A visitation was held one hour prior to the service.
Jo Anne “Jodee” Bainter was born on Nov. 29, 1937 in her home in Coffeyville, Kan. She was the second youngest of 9 siblings born to Edgar and Iva Hepner. Her presence came as a surprise to her siblings. As her sister, Mary, said “I did not know that Momma was expecting. I came home from school… there she was. I did not have a doll… but I had a real baby.”
Jodee shared many fond memories with her sister, including the fact that the reason she was such a good speller was because her older sister would play “teacher and student” with her. Yes, Jodee was expected to actually learn- not just play. It proved beneficial as Jodee went on to skip 2 full grades, graduating high school at age 16. A few years later, she met Max while he was the quarterback for Coffeyville Junior College. She won Max over with her compassionate personality and striking beauty- which had won her a beauty contest at the age of 14. They were married Aug. 25th, 1957. Jodee and Max went on to have 3 children, Rebecca (Becky), Steven, and Kirk. They moved around for Max’s teaching career, eventually settling in Winner, South Dakota. While Max was busy teaching, fishing, and hunting, Jodee found her niche selling Avon and engaging in volunteer work. Thanks to her love for Avon (which she sold for close to 50 years), Jodee’s children and grandchildren always received an abundance of Avon-ordered gifts for every birthday and Christmas.
She was also highly involved in the national Epsilon Sigma Alpha (ESA) Women’s Sorority for several decades. There, she played an important role in successful fundraising for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and was voted ESA’s South Dakota State Woman of the Year.
Once Jodee became a grandmother, she never stopped “showing off” her grandkids. If she went for “coffee with the girls,” or visited a friend- she had her grandkids in tow if they were visiting. With her spunk and humor, she always enjoyed “tricking” her grandkids into thinking that the football, baseball, or other games they were looking forward to watching were “cancelled due to bad weather.” Of course, it was her way of wanting to spend more time with them. Overall, her grandchildren are grateful for their time with her and realize that they could never spend enough time with Grandma.
Jodee Bainter is survived by two of her siblings: Mary Atkinson and Bobby Hepner; three children: Becky (Duane) Hatch of Hartford, SD, Steven (Mary) Bainter of Opelouses, LA, and Kirk (Mary) Bainter of Winner, SD; 10 grandchildren: Trevor Bainter, Sara Bainter, Stephanie Hatch, Michael Hatch, Kristin Bainter, Steven Hatch, Robert Bainter, Eric Bainter, Lauren Bainter, and Kierra Bainter. She is also survived by her 7 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Max Bainter; her siblings: Leon Hepner, Wilma Tesh, Clarys Alvey, Edgar Hepner Jr., Kenneth Hepner, and Donny Hepner; and her parents: Edgar and Iva Hepner.
In lieu of flowers the family is requesting for a donation to a charity of your choice.
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