Elaine "Joan" Oberg

Elaine ‘Joan’ (Sween) Oberg, 86, passed away peacefully on March 20, 2023, at Parkview Memory Care.

Joan was born at home on May 27, 1936, in Arlington, South Dakota. She was the daughter of Edwin and Mary (Hanson) Sween. Joan was the youngest of four children and was called her dad’s “little shadow” as she followed him around the farm. She attended Arlington and then Huron High School and graduated in 1954. During high school, Joan was crowned the “Dairy Queen.” After graduation, she attended Brookings College, where she roomed with Florence Oberg, who introduced Joan to her future husband, Wayne.

On August 9, 1958, in Wolsey, South Dakota, she married Wayne Erland Oberg. After Penne’s birth in 1960, the family moved to Richland, WA, where Wayne’s brother, Dean, and his family were living. They moved to Walla Walla, WA, in 1964, where their children Joany, Philip, and Lynette were born.

While Joan’s most important jobs were wife, mother, and homemaker, at different times in her life, she worked as a bank teller, in the canneries, Kmart in the office, and at the WWCC bookstore. Joan was an accomplished seamstress. She made clothes for the family, including beautiful Pendleton wool shirts for the men, women’s suits, baptismal gowns, and robes. Joan also quilted and made curtains and bedspreads. She even took an upholstery class and reupholstered a couple of couches. Joan liked to bowl and travel. She was known within the family for ‘being there.’ She made it a priority to attend family weddings, funerals, and reunions for both the Oberg and Sween sides of the family. Joan had a group of friends that called themselves the ‘lunch bunch’ and, for many years, would meet monthly to celebrate birthdays. She was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church and served in many capacities on church committees.

After the death of her beloved husband in 2003, Joan was reunited with her high school beau, Don Lee, in 2009. They divided their time between his home in South Dakota and Joan’s home in Walla Walla. Together they took an Alaskan cruise and traveled to such places as Memphis, TN, and Branson, MO.

Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne; a stillborn daughter; daughter, Joany Oberg; son-in-law, Mick Fogg; and brothers, Harold and Robert Sween. She is survived by her friend, Don Lee of Arlington, SD; children, Penne (Dale Yuzer) Oberg, Philip (Tracy) Oberg, and Lynette Fogg; sister, Margie Hall; grandchildren: Heath, Nathaniel, Paul, Samantha, Isabella, Jaclyn, Ryan, and Maya; as well as six great-grandchildren.

The family would like to thank the staff and caregivers at Parkview for their loving care.

Funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at 9:00 am, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 109 S Roosevelt, Walla Walla, WA 99362.

Memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church through the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder St., Walla Walla, WA 99362. In addition, friends and family are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.herringgroseclose.com.