Joanna Kalbach

A Funeral Service for Joanna Joy Kalbach, infant daughter of Steve and Jessica Kalbach of Baker, MT will be held at 2:30 p. m. on Sunday, November 25, 2012, at First Baptist Church in Baker, MT. Interment will follow in Bonnievale Cemetery at Baker, MT. Joanna Joy Kalbach was born a daughter of Steve and Jessica (Ellingson) Kalbach at Holy Rosary Hospital in Miles City on October 19, 2012. Though full term, she was very small weighing only 5 lbs. 9 ozs. Apart from that she was a beautiful, perfectly formed little girl. Those who met her frequently commented on her expressive, big, brown eyes. When she looked at you, she just had a way of wrapping herself around your heart. Everyone who had a chance to meet this little girl instantly fell in love with her. After ten days at home with her family, she stopped breathing one night. This started a pain filled 3 weeks for her and her family. She went from the ER in Miles City by helicopter to St. Vincent?s Hospital in Billings MT. There they found out that she had been born with a hole in her heart (VSD). She was then air transported to Providence Children?s Hospital in Spokane, WA. After battling through a virus, a staff infection, and a strep infection, she was finally scheduled for heart surgery on November 19. 3 days before the surgery her genetic tests came back. She was diagnosed with Trisomony 18Q. This was the root cause of her heart condition and her small size, and her parents were told that she really had very little chance of surviving the surgery, or living a normal life. She was disconnected from life support and even though she was not expected to last 24 hrs, she lived for 5 days. Her parents were able to bring her back home to Montana, where they and her sister Susanna were able to love her and treasure each additional moment with her. She passed peacefully at home November 22nd with her family holding her close. Though she had a very short and pain filled life, this special little girl touched people’s hearts literally around the world. Her family is so thankful that God blessed them with her and allowed them to be a part of her short time on earth. Joanna is survived by her parents, Steve and Jessica Kalbach, Baker MT; her sister, Susanna Rose (age 2), of the family home; her maternal grandparents, Ed and Yvonne Ellingson, Cumberland, WI; her paternal grandmother, Carol Kalbach, Baker, MT; and her great-grandparents, Bob and Ilene Ostenson, Spooner, WI and Ed and Carolyn Ellingson, Pensacola, FL; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. She was preceded in death by her grandfather, Dick Kalbach and her great-grandparents, Kenneth and Christine Gains and Wilford and Ruth Kalbach.


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Burial Date: November 25, 2012
Funeral Home Baker, MT

Funeral Service: Sunday, First Baptist Church, Baker, MT.