JoEllen Dicken

JOELLEN RENEE DICKEN Marion JoEllen Renee Dicken, 49, of Haymarket, Va., passed away suddenly Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, at home. She was born June 23, 1967, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the daughter of Darrell and Judy Dicken of Marion. She is survived by her son, Brayden Joseph Prucha, and his father, Brian Prucha, of Haymarket; a sister, Shelly (Patrick) Collins of Lexington, Ky.; a brother, Mark (Kerri) Dicken of Johnston; and nieces and nephews, Michael (Kelsey) Collins, Megan and Madison Collins of Lexington, Kelsey (Nick) Bussanmas and Zachary and Joshua Dicken of Johnston. JoEllen was preceded in death by her grandparents, Lawrence and Elma Dicken and Carl and Edith Foote. She attended Linn-Mar Schools in Marion, graduating in 1985. She was an outstanding trumpeter and won many State Division I Solo and Ensemble ratings. She was first trumpet throughout her tenure in the Linn-Mar Bands, many of which were selected to perform at the Iowa Bandmasters Association. In 1985, she represented Linn-Mar and the state of Iowa as a member of the McDonald's All-American Band, with performances at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Bowl Parade. After graduating high school, JoEllen attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines, graduating in 1988 with an Associate of Arts degree in court reporting. Jo began her career as a registered professional reporter in Denver, Colo., at the firm of Agren & Blando. In 1989, she moved to Washington, D.C., to begin working for the National Captioning Institute as a closed captioner. In 1991, JoEllen was hired by the United States Senate in the Office of Captioning Services as a realtime captioner. She was employed there for 25 years and had served as the director of captioning services since 2005. A visitation celebrating JoEllen's life will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, at Baker-Post Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 10001 Nokesville Rd., Manassas, VA 20110, a memorial service will follow. A visitation and memorial service will also be held in Marion at a date to be announced. Memorials may be directed to Linn-Mar Schools, 2999 N. 10th St., Marion, IA 52302, where the funds will go to benefit the band program. Please note JoEllen Dicken Memorial on your contribution.