Longboat Key Obituaries: July 6, 2017

Barbara T. ‘Bobbie’ Krohn

Bobbie Krohn, 84, of Saginaw, Mich., and Longboat Key, died June 23.

She was born in Baltimore in 1933 and was a graduate of Lasell College in Newton, Mass.

She married Jimmy Krohn on Aug. 7, 1955, and they spend 55 years together.

Bobbie adored her friends, family and community. She was active in the Junior League, book and garden clubs and was an avid tennis, piano and bridge player. Bobbie was a proud patriot and never missed an opportunity to honor veterans. Her vast collections of stars and stripes apparel appeared at every parade and Fourth of July.

She is survived by her daughters, Kathy, Suzie and Barby; three grandchildren; brothers Sonny and Bud; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Field Neurosciences Institute, 4677 Towne Center, Suite 101, Saginaw, Mich.,

48604, or the Hospice at Jewish Social Service Agency at jssa.org.

Joanna Brown

Joanna Brown, of Sarasota, died June 13.

She was born in Port Arthur, Texas, to Russell Brown and Jonnie Dycus Brown.

Her dad’s career as an executive with Standard Oil, took the family to the Persian Gulf for her childhood years. Joanna and her younger brother, Russell “Rusty” Brown, attended Kodaikanal International School in India. They had many adventures as they traveled independently to and from Bahrain via steamship, train and bus to visit their parents and to return to the states to spend time with family in Texas and Michigan, including their sister, Virginia.

After attending Southern Methodist University, she applied to the stewardess program at American Airlines, where she flew for several years and became “the face” of American, appearing in advertisements and on billboards.

In 1953, she married Dr. Murf Klauber. They moved to Buffalo, N.Y. where they welcomed their three children.

Joanna loved her life as a mom and homemaker but was also active in the performing arts, including playing piano with the Buffalo Symphony and singing soprano for the Buffalo Schola Cantorum.

In 1967, Joanna, who had emphysema, was suffering from one of her many bouts of respiratory distress and went to Longboat Key to stay with friends while recovering.

After one day, she called Murf and persuaded him to take a detour to Sarasota on his route to a lecture in St. Louis.

They were completely taken with the area and knew Sarasota was where they wanted to raise their children. Joanna became a regular on stage at The Golden Apple, Player’s Theater, Asolo Repertory Theater, Venice Little Theater and others.

Following her divorce from Murf and her children enrolling in college, she moved to New York City where she lived for nearly 20 years.

She discovered the New York Shakespeare Theater where she honed her skills under Eric Hoffman. While in New York, Joanna committed herself to helping others in alcohol recovery and, along with others, founded an online resource for 24/7 meetings and created a “Daily Message” that reached 20,000 subscribers around the world. She remained committed to writing until just before her death.

In 2007, her health brought her back to Sarasota to be closer to her family. While she could no longer work on stage, she continued to attend performances throughout the community, often with her family.

Joanna is survived by her children, Michael and Tommy Klauber and Katie Klauber Moulton; their spouses; six grandchildren; several “step-grands;” and four great grandchildren.

Donations can be made to the Humane Society of Sarasota, 2331 15th St.

Dana Kampmann

Dana Marie Kampmann, 51, of Sarasota, Longboat Key and Bradenton, died June 18.

She was born in Bradenton and later owned MEA Engineers Inc., and The Deck Docktors Inc. with her husband, John.

She was a licensed contractor and CPA. She most recently worked with Informa Systems as a financial controller. She enjoyed fashion, traveling and tooling around in her bug convertible.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Darla.

She is survived by her husband, John; stepdaughters Jenna and Molly Kampmann; father, Walter “Rusty” Wyar; several nieces and nephews; sisters Patti Rousseau and Kim Wyar; and numerous aunts, uncles, in-laws, cousins and friends, including her doctors, nurses and support staff.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to gscproject.org.