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Her colleagues called her Joan of Art.
Joan Frost Kriegler devoted herself to art as a longtime Omaha Public Schools educator and as an oil painter whose abstracts hang in many homes.
The 76-year-old died July 17 at the Frisco, Texas, home she shared with Arnold Kriegler, her husband of 11 years.
Daughter Sara Sharpe of Omaha said her mother had progressive supranuclear palsy. The movement disorder is caused by damage to nerve cells in the brain.
The Krieglers, who also have an Omaha home, came to town in June.
“She still maintained contact with a lot of the art teachers” and they visited during the June trip, Sharpe said.
Although her mother no longer could speak, “she really enjoyed it” when the teachers talked shop, Sharpe said.
Kriegler’s three degrees — bachelor’s degrees in fine arts and education and a master’s degree in education — all came from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Sharpe said.
Kriegler, then known as Joan Frost, began her career with OPS in 1978 as a traveling art teacher. By the time she retired in 1998, she was an art supervisor for curriculum and learning.
“She made such a difference in the public schools and in our church,” said longtime friend Eddith Buis of Omaha, who also taught art in OPS. The two women joined First Unitarian Church the same year.
“She would inspire us. She wouldn’t let us down. She made such a difference in our art department,” Buis said.
“She was really an outstanding oil painter and sold well. She sold out of her home or at small shows” such as at church.
Kriegler, who took cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, “was a wonderful organizer and entertainer,” Buis said. “She was so wonderful, humble yet as elegant as all get-out.”
Besides Joan Kriegler’s husband and daughter, other survivors include daughter Amy Druliner of Omaha, son Andrew Frost of Moreno Valley, Calif., and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney St. Kriegler was a 50-year member of the church.
Contact the writer:
444-1165, sue.truax@owh.com
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