Joanna Jane (Wilkerson) Bartels was born Dec. 5, 1933, in Bayard, Nebraska, to Charlotte Poppe Oppedal and Joseph Lamborn. Joanna grew up and attended school in Bayard. In January of 1949, Joanna married Merl Davidson and to this union two daughters were born: Judy and Joyce. She later married Fred Wilkerson in November of 1997 and the couple made their home in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado.