Joel Irwin Pottorff, 77, of Saint Charles, Iowa passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, February 20, 2022. Celebration of Life Services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday February 26, 2022, at Overton Funeral Home in Indianola, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Orpha Pottorff, and his brother, Merle Pottorff. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marilyn; his daughter Estie (Craig) Mason of Des Moines; son Michael (Genia) Pottorff of Indianola; daughter Jodie Weckman of Indianola; daughter Cindy (James) Rogers-Moulton of Indianola; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. He is also survived by his brother Earl (Nancy) Pottorff, sister Paula (Walt) Glade, and sister Gail (Ed) Young.

Joel was born in Leon, Iowa on March 4, 1944. He had two older brothers: Earl, and Merle. The family moved from Leon to Osceola, where his sister Paula was born. They then moved to Creston, where his sister Gail was born. He graduated from Creston High School in 1962. Following this, the family moved to Winterset, where Joel helped his dad on a survey crew, mapping gravel roads to be paved.

In 1964, he met and married Marilyn Holland. They lived in Des Moines for a short time, and then moved in with her parents in Saint Charles when their daughter Estie was born in 1965. Three years later, they moved to an apartment, also in Saint Charles, and Mike was born in 1968. Following this, they moved to Martensdale, Iowa and stayed there for about three years. Then they bought their own house in Saint Charles, where they had Jodie in 1974 and Cindy in 1978.

Joel worked at the Des Moines Register for many years, beginning shortly after he and Marilyn were married. He retired in 2005 but went back to work at the Register a couple of years later. He was still working part time when he passed. He loved hunting, fishing, golf, and was fascinated by anything electronic. He loved to figure out how things worked. He was loved by many and will be greatly missed.