Dr. Ann Elizabeth Rehan

Ann Elizabeth Rehan’s extraordinary life began in Sioux City, Iowa on Feb. 19, 1961. She passed on Feb. 20, 2023, after a brave battle with cancer.

Ann was a proud graduate of the 1979 Heelan class, serving as the school’s first woman student council president and valedictorian. She went on to Carroll College in Helena, Mont., where she graduated as valedictorian of her undergraduate class. It was also where she met the love of her life, Dr. John Goebel.

Ann earned her medical degree from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and pursued pediatrics. After starting her family and beginning her career in Bakersfield, Calif. and Las Vegas, Nev., Ann returned to Sioux City and cared for families at Prairie Pediatrics. Her practice was personal. She eased stressed parents and made her young patients feel heard and respected. A child once took Ann aside after an appointment and asked if she could help convince his mom for a backyard pool. Ann wrote the request down on a prescription pad and rolled it into an orange pill bottle for the boy’s mom. 

Ann cared for thousands of children, but her own kids – Katie, Mary and Danny – were the center of her universe. She loved her family and was in her element when hosting a big party, which always featured a signature cocktail. She was an incredible cook, following in the footsteps of her beloved Sithee who taught her the family’s Lebanese recipes. She kept our traditions alive.

Ann not only did a lot of things, she was a lot of things. She knew when to be serious and when to be funny. She was fierce but also deeply kind. She was the antidote to a boring party. She had all the answers. She erased your worries. She was a big hugger.

Although she was devoted to Siouxland, you might have run into her in a dark New York City jazz club or on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, at Clark and Addison in Chicago, a tailgate outside of Kinnick Stadium or on a snowy mountain in Oregon. No matter where she was, she was the best dressed.

Ann is survived by her husband, John; children, Katie Schminke (Mike), Mary and Danny; granddaughter, Lucy; parents Bob and Mary Rehan; and siblings, Bob Rehan, Jane Kruger (Cory) and Susan Rehan (Ann).

A funeral mass will be held Saturday, March 4 at 10:00 a.m. at Mater Dei Parish-Church of The Nativity.  Visitation will be Friday from 4-7:00 p.m. with a vigil at 7:00 p.m. at the church.  Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery.  Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel is handling the arrangements. Please share your memories, stories and photos of Ann on www.meyerbroschapels.com.  The service will be live streamed at https://youtube.com/live/xis_kFmNruE?feature=share

Hemingway wrote that “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bullfighters." But he didn't know Ann. Most of us go through life hoping to be something to someone. Ann was everything to many of us. We invite you to honor her life by embracing her spirit: unabashedly showing love, sipping a glass of wine surrounded by a beautiful view, singing at the top of your lungs and always—always—being your own fabulous self.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family for a donation in Ann's name.