Joan Merkert Lovrien, 82, formerly of St. Anthony Park, died on May 19 in Rochester, Minn. She was the widow of Rex Lovrien, a longtime professor at the University of Minnesota.
She was born in Minneapolis to Charles and Matilda Johnson Merkert. Joan attended Washburn High School, Stephens College and the University of Minnesota. She then went on to graduate school, attending the University of Iowa’s well-known studio art program.
Joan was a longtime resident of St. Anthony Park and later lived in Woodbury, before moving to Rochester, to be near her daughter Anna.
Joan was a writer and an artist and had a roving intellect. She continued studying all her life. She obtained a Master of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. She was a longtime member of Unity Church Unitarian in St. Paul. More recently, she belonged to the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester.
She is survived by three children, Lucy (Nicholas Poser) of Watertown, Mass.; John (Nga Tang); and Anna of Rochester.
