Josephine Haptonstahl

Josephine Haptonstahl, 76, loving mother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend, passed away on August 22, 2025, in her home at The Loft of East Peoria following a prolonged illness. Her only daughter and several siblings were at her side the days before she left, and at her time of passing.

Josephine was born on April 18, 1949, in Des Moines, IA to Helen Patricia (O’Donnell) Haptonstahl, and Omer Robert (“Hap”) Haptonstahl Jr. She was the fifth child among the ten children of Helen and Hap. She was raised with her family in Ft. Des Moines, Emmetsburg, Adel, Des Moines, and Grinnell IA, and Galesburg, IL.

Educated in Graphic Design, Speech, and Liberal Arts, she worked for 30 years as a Graphic Artist and adapted well to the changing times of technology to remain in the printing business for 40 years in the Central Illinois area. She was an incredible talent in her craft and loved helping people. Her last job before she retired in 2022 was working as a homecare aide at Help at Home in Galesburg IL, with most of her elderly clients becoming her friends.

Josephine was a talented and creative soul who was especially known for her dancing. In the 1970s she was a Ballroom Dance instructor at the Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Detroit MI. She was also an artist and craftswoman, leaving behind paintings as well as innumerable crafts and other creative expressions of joy that friends and family will continue to treasure.

She was an open and endearing person who was never afraid to give love or the shirt off her back, welcoming others with an open heart and a timely joke. She will be remembered through the love and laughter she brought to all of us. She was loved by everyone who knew her, and she touched so many lives – more than she even knew. Surviving Josephine are her daughter Heidi Haptonstahl (Nathaniel Feipel); her three sisters Teresa Jackson, Eden Winter, and Susan Haptonstahl (Lee Bursi); three brothers Stephen (Thomasina), James (Michele), and Michael (Denise) Haptonstahl; countless nieces and nephews; and many friends. Preceding her in passing were three brothers, John, Max, and Paul Haptonstahl, and her brothers-in-law James Jackson and Marvin Surowitz.

A memorial ceremony for Josephine will be held on October 12, 2025, 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Cemetery in Galesburg IL. Arrangements have been entrusted to Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Galesburg IL.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Josephine may be made to Watson Thomas Funeral Home.