Joan Delaney was born to Nick and Mary (Miller) Breuer on June 21, 1934 in Howard, South Dakota. When she was six months old her mother died and Joan went to live with her aunt and uncle, Alfred and Clara Breuer, who also lived near Howard. A year later, they moved to Delvin, Minnesota. They later moved to the Edgerton area and then to the Pipestone area where Joan attended school. Following her graduation from Pipestone High School in 1952, she worked for the FBI in Washington, D.C. She was later transferred to the Minneapolis office and later began working for an ad agency in Minneapolis. On April 28, 1962, she was united in marriage to Don Delaney at St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone. Following their marriage, they lived in Pipestone. In August, 1999, Joan suffered from a stroke. On July 24, 2000, she became a resident at the Good Samaritan Communities in Pipestone where she died on Thursday, June 19, 2008, at the age of 73 years, 11 months and 28 days.

Joan was a member of St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone. Throughout her years in Pipestone, she was very active in the DFL Party. She was also a member of the Heritage Preservation Commission. She was active in local government and served on several city commissions. She worked on the local and state levels for the restoration of older buildings, including the Pipestone water tower, the Keyes building and the Rock Island Railroad Depot in Pipestone.

She is lovingly remembered by her husband, Don Delaney of Pipestone, Minnesota; three children, Brad and his wife Lori Delaney of Pipestone, Minnesota, and their children, Kaci, Erin and Lysa, Mark and his wife Jennifer Delaney of Columbus, Nebraska, and their children, Sabrina, Nathan and Natalie, and Erin Delaney and her husband Shamus O’Meara of St. Paul, Minnesota, and their children, Conor, Patrick and Rory; three brothers, Vincent and his wife Maxine Breuer of Howard, South Dakota, Mark and his wife Donna Breuer of Howard, South Dakota, and Gilbert and his wife Barb Breuer of Lake Shetek, Minnesota; and one sister, Pat Schoeneman of Pipestone, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her parents, Nick and Mary Breuer and Alfred and Clara Breuer; her brother and sister-in-law, Robert and LaVonne Breuer; and her brother-in-law, Erwin Schoeneman.