Joan Elizabeth (Pelster) Dreier, 66, of Humboldt, Nebraska, was born on November 17, 1959, at the Dalton Hospital, in Dalton, Nebraska to Eugene and Catherine (Lauby) Pelster. She attended K-12 school in Dalton and was very active in music, volleyball, basketball and track. She continues to hold the high jump and shot-put record at Dalton High School. The entire family was extremely involved in 4-H where Joan sewed, baked, gardened, and raised sheep and cattle. She was very interested in sheep production and started her own Suffolk flock while in college. She sold her lambs to local 4-H members so they could have some quality lambs to show. Her love of sheep lead her to collect sheep figurines throughout her life. Joan also loved following her brothers around in all their Cub Scout and Boy Scout activities and dreamed of becoming a Boy Scout.
After graduation in 1978, Joan enrolled in Kearney State College with a volleyball scholarship. There, she was active in the Residence Hall Association and was the leader for her co-ed intermural team, “The Fool Family” where she made a lot of friends and met the love of her life, Donald Dreier. During the summers during college, Joan worked for the Cheyenne County Extension Office in Sidney, Nebraska as a 4-H aide and enjoyed her job greatly. After four and a half years of college, she graduated in December 1982 with a degree in 7-12 Business Education and K-12 Physical Education with a coaching endorsement. Joan accepted a teaching position in January 1983 in Ainsworth, Nebraska where she taught business classes and was the Future Business Leaders of America advisor for four and a half years.
On June 4, 1983, Joan was united in marriage with Donald Eugene Dreier from Hendley, Nebraska. They spent the summer in a tiny apartment in Dalton and then moved to Ainsworth, Nebraska. During the school year, they lived in Ainsworth and lived with Joan’s parents during the summer so Joan could help with the Pelster family farm while Don worked at the Co-op Fertilizer Plant in Sidney, Nebraska. Joan loved to drive the tractor and combine wheat and was her father’s right-hand man. While at Ainsworth, Joan completed her vocational endorsement at Chadron State College. In May of 1987, Don decided he wanted to return to college and get his degree in physical education and social sciences so off to Kearney they went. Don attended college and Joan worked during the week on the family farm in Dalton and came back to Kearney on the weekends. During the winter months, she substitute taught at Kearney High School and Kearney Catholic High School, was a temporary worker at Baldwin Filters and inbound telemarketer for Cabela's. Joan did a long-term substitute teaching job at Kearney Catholic for the business teacher who was killed in a car wreck and also a long term sub at Gibbon High School. In 1990, Don student taught at Hay Springs, Nebraska while Joan taught business and coached volleyball and basketball at Chadron High school. Don graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in December 1990 and substitute taught in Chadron and Hay Springs for a while until he returned to Joan’s parent’s home and again worked for the Co-op Fertilizer plant in Sidney. During the fall and winter of 1991, Joan and Don helped Joan’s parents prepare for a farm sale as they retired from farming.
In August 1991, Joan and Don moved to Humboldt, Nebraska where Joan became the business teacher and Don an assistant football coach. On June 30, 1992, Cody Arend Dreier joined their family and on December 22, 1997, Brandon Eugene Dreier made their family complete. Joan continued to teach business while Don did many odd jobs, substitute taught, coached several sports, taught driver’s education, GED classes and STOP class. He became a paraprofessional at HTRS and loved his job. Unfortunately, on January 27, 2009, Don passed away from complications of pneumonia.
Through the boy’s school years, Joan and Don followed them from game to game and supported their activities. Joan became the Committee Chairperson for Cub Scout Pack 387 and eventually achieved her life-long dream of becoming a Boy Scout when she first became an assistant scoutmaster and finally the scoutmaster for Troop 387 in Humboldt. She very much enjoyed the outdoor activities and loved camping with the boys and was blessed to have many active parents and assistant scoutmasters. Cody became an Eagle Scout in 2010, and Brandon earned his Eagle Scout in 2015. Throughout Joan’s tenure in Boy Scouts, she was proud to have helped 23 young men achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.
Joan opened her home to Cassandra (Peace) Forman in 2015. She lived with Joan until her high school graduation in 2017. Cassy is now in the Army, is married to Angelo Forman who is also in the Army and considers Humboldt her home. They have a beautiful daughter, Ciara, and a new baby on the way. Cassy is presently an SSG Staff Sergeant and is stationed in Fort Eustis, Virginia.
Joan passed away unexpectedly on Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Nemaha County Hospital in Auburn, Nebraska having reached the earthly age of sixty-six years, seven months, twelve days. She is preceded in death by her husband, Donald Eugene Dreier; parents, Eugene and Catherine (Lauby) Pelster; sister, Jane Pelster-Rosen; father-in-law Albert Dreier; step-father-in-law, Ivan Shafer; sister-in-law, Judy Pelster, and brothers-in law Patrick Dreier and Larry Arganbright.
Survivors include her son Cody, his wife Jessica (Albin) Dreier and granddaughters, Chloe and Olivia and grandsons Lewis and Phillip Dreier of Lincoln, NE; son Brandon Dreier of Humboldt, NE; brother Dennis Pelster of Longmont, CO; brother Michael (Bonnie) Pelster of Scottsbluff, NE; foster sister Shirley (Robert) Richards of Leander, TX; mother-in-law Donna Shafer of Arapahoe, NE; brother-in-law Mike Dreier of Hendley, NE; sister-in-law Sharon Arganbright of Omaha, NE; and sister-in-law JoAnn (Nick) Becker of Beaver City, NE; and numerous nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.
Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Steinauer, Nebraska with Father Bernard Kimminau officiating. Burial will immediately follow mass at the Humboldt Cemetery in Humboldt, Nebraska.
Visitation will be held from 9 a.m.- 8 p.m. on Monday, July 6, 2026, at the Wherry Mortuary, 207 N. Nemaha Street in Humboldt, Nebraska. Family will greet friends from 6-8 p.m. at the mortuary.
Memorials contributions may be given to the family’s choice with a later designation.
Condolences may be shared online at www.wherrymortuary.com
Services entrusted to Wherry Mortuary-207 Nemaha Street-Humboldt.
