JoAnne Ries

Our precious mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, JoAnne Bertoch Ries, passed away peacefully on August 20, 2026. She was born in Pocatello, Idaho, on November 10, 1942. She was blessed with wonderful parents, Vivian Hemingway and Gladys Winzler Bertoch. When JoAnne was born, she was welcomed into the family by two older brothers, Jack and Mike, who quickly gave her the nickname Annie. This name was followed by many variations, such as Annie-Bananie and Little Orphan Annie. A few years later, Steve was born, leaving Annie the only girl in a house full of boys. She was cherished by her parents and brothers, and she quickly learned how to keep up. Some of her happiest childhood memories were of her dad coming home from work and saying, “Let’s go fishing!”, riding her bike to Ross Park, and roller skating. JoAnne attended Pocatello High School and graduated in 1960.

During the summer of 1962, she was enrolled at Brigham Young University, where she spotted a cute boy, Ted Ries, in a golf class. While learning the fine art of putts, drives, and chips, they fell in love, and one year later they were married in the Idaho Falls Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 21, 1963. They famously never golfed again. But they spent 62 years happily married and committed to each other. Ted passed away in November 2025.

They spent the first several years of their marriage living in Glendale, California, where their four children, Kristen, Derek, Gina, and Rachel, were born. JoAnne was an extremely hard worker, and while Ted taught high school in Los Angeles, she worked as a seamstress. She also learned how to refinish antique furniture and spent many hours turning old pieces into cherished heirlooms. After 11 years in LA, they moved to JoAnne’s hometown of Pocatello, Idaho, where they lived and raised their family for the next 50 years.

JoAnne was a lifelong learner and returned to college when she was 38 years old. She worked four part-time jobs while completing her BA from Brigham Young University. She later earned two master’s degrees: one from BYU in art history and the other, a Master of Fine Arts from Idaho State University. She worked on them simultaneously and earned them one year apart. She was a beautiful artist who sketched, painted, and sculpted many pieces throughout her life.

Even though her degrees were in art, a defining event in her life was when she became involved in the juvenile justice program. Armed with her art degrees, she was hired to organize a program to serve as a resource for juvenile court in Bannock County, Idaho. At the time, the juvenile court had no treatment or educational programs, no detention centers, and little in the way of “helpful” consequences for kids in trouble. After 11 years of her creative energy and leadership, Bannock County became a model of what could be done to help troubled kids and their families.

She sought out good programs from across the country, adjusted them to meet local needs, and created her own programs, including “Our Girls,” which became an extremely successful program used across the country. She taught them all, refining them to make them as effective as possible, and then trained others to take over the instruction. JoAnne received dozens of awards for her programs and accomplishments, both locally and statewide. In the spring of 2000, she was recognized nationally when she was selected as a semifinalist for the Good Housekeeping Award for Women in Government. Over 300 women had been nominated nationwide, and it was an impressive honor to be among the few chosen.

JoAnne simply had a natural talent for turning the ordinary into something extraordinary. She enjoyed gardening, and each year transformed her yard with some of the most beautiful flowers in town. Being in their yard was truly her and Ted’s heaven on earth. However, nothing she painted, sculpted, planted, or sewed could compare to the beautiful family she created.

Her children came first. They were cherished, loved, and taught to work hard, and they never doubted that they were her priority. She was an amazing mom to her four children, and they will spend the rest of their lives striving to follow her example.

Her best and arguably “funnest” role came when she became a grandmother to 17 and a great-grandmother to 9. Everything she was as a mom was magnified as a grandma. From Grandma’s Camp to baking the best homemade chocolate chip cookies, there is simply not enough space to describe her relationship with each of her grandchildren. But they know. And that is what always mattered to her.

Ted and JoAnne loved their children and grandchildren so much, but they also loved their Savior and chose to leave them for a few years and serve as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brisbane, Australia, and later in Madrid, Spain. They worked with young single adults in both of those areas. They loved the people they met and the young adults they had the privilege to serve.

JoAnne is already dearly missed, but we believe she is continuing her missionary work and enjoying a wonderful reunion with her eternal companion, whom she missed dearly during their nine months apart.

JoAnne was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Ted Ries, as well as her mother, father, and three brothers.

She is survived by her children: Kristen Jensen (Randy), and their children, Whitney, Jaxon, Cassidy, and Colin; Derek Ries, and his children, Kendall, Carson, Landon, Presley, and Macy; Gina Hansen (Greg), and their children, Josh, Brianna, Tanner, and Sarah; and Rachel Luke (Preston), and their children, Annie, Sophie, Jacob, and Ellie; as well as nine great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 11 a.m. A viewing will be held that same day at 10 a.m. Both will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on the corner of Butte and Hiskey in Pocatello, Idaho. Burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery.

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