Joan Marie Wintergg

Joan Marie (Habegger) Winteregg, 93 of Franklin, IN, and formerly of Berne, IN passed away Thursday, January 16, 2025, at Greenwood Village South in Greenwood, IN.

She was born October 22, 193,1 in Decatur, IN to Wilferd Habegger and Helen (Barnett) Habegger. She married LaMar Winteregg on March 10, 1953, he preceded her in death on August 31, 1999.

Joan maintained her Berne roots as current owner of the Poplar Quik Stop convenience store on the north end of the city. Joan and her family survived, but lost everything they owned in the Palm Sunday tornado of 1965. She and her husband co-owned Poplar Drive-Inn in Berne, for 26 years with her brother-in-law Doyle (Phyllis) Winteregg. Following the sale of the restaurant, LaMar was the sole owner of The Hoosier House and Joan moved on to be a manager of the McDonalds in Decatur, IN.

Joan’s first love was her family. She especially enjoyed her numerous family trips to Switzerland, where she dined at the Winteregg restaurant (in the Lauterbrunnen Valley) and had the memorable opportunity to locate and visit both the Habegger and Winteregg family farm homesteads.

She loved dogs and especially adored her Yorkie, Ali, her final companion. Joan was an excellent cook making many special meals, desserts, and candy. She especially enjoyed teaching the grandchildren how to make and decorate rollout cookies at Christmas time. 

Joan was an avid fan of Indiana University, (six members of immediate family as alumni) and attended many basketball and football games over the years with her family.

Joan was very generous, having volunteered at church and the local food bank, as well as allocating a portion of her estate to religious, animal, youth, and children’s causes. 

Survivors include her son Jon R. Winteregg (Cindy) of Franklin, IN, a daughter-in-law Sandra (Gregory) Winteregg of Palm Harbor, FL. Grandchildren Vincent (Michelle) Winteregg, Neil Winteregg, Stefany (Curtis) Dolan, Abigail (Aaron) Johnson, and Stacia (Kurtis) Jones; Great-grandchildren Aidan, Ava, Griffin, Levi, Parker, Colt and Arlen; brother-in-law Bryce (Karen) Winteregg.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband LaMar, and sister Mary. Her son Gregory A. Winteregg passed away on July 13, 2021.

In lieu of flowers, or if you were even just touched in some way by her life, Joan would appreciate your donations to one of her favorite charities (sponsored by Joan), via their online wish list where you can fulfill their most critical needs. Go to: https://becauseone.com/n/humanesocietyofjohnsoncounty

A celebration of life service will take place on Saturday, February 8, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home, Yager-Kirchhofer Chapel 365 West Main Street in Berne, IN 46711. The service will be live-streamed and can be accessed through the Zwick & Jahn Funeral Homes Facebook page. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 12:00 noon until the 2:00 p.m. service time.

Inurnment was at MRE Cemetery in Berne, Adams County, IN.

Swartz Family Community Mortuary and Memorial Center 300 South U.S. 31 (Morton Street) is handling local arrangements in Franklin, IN.