Joan Sinclair Rooney Averwater

She is survived by four sons, Chip (Jan) Averwater of Lakeland, Chuck (Nancy) Averwater of Collierville, Jim (Kristi) Averwater of Murfreesboro, and Pat (D’Ann) Averwater of Lakeland, eight grandchildren, C J (Heather) Averwater, Robbie Averwater, Lee Averwater, Nick (Ashley) Averwater, Jami (Alan Brown) Averwater, Briana (Max) Appleton, Taylor Day, and Colby Day, and six great grandchildren. Her husband, Bob, preceded her in death February 26, 2020.

Joan was born March 30, 1929, in New Orleans to Herbert and Linnie Rooney, the second of their two daughters, and she and the family moved to Memphis in 1934. The youngest and smallest in all her school classes, she finished with near perfect grades, won scholarships, and twice beat her older sister to win the school spelling bee. At Humes High, she co-edited the school newspaper, won a Sears Scholarship Award, and graduated at 17 with a straight-A average.

Continuing to Memphis State College, she met Bob Averwater and they soon became a forever couple, marrying on August 20, 1949. They raised four sons, which she often claimed as her “greatest accomplishment.” She and Bob celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary together August 20, 2019.

Working as a camp counselor at Camp Mirimichi in Hardy, Arkansas, in the ‘40’s and early ‘50’s sparked a lifelong passion for the YWCA and as well as a love affair with the Spring River, where she and Bob maintained a cabin all their lives.

In 1983, she returned to school, completing a bachelor’s and, in 1987, a master’s in Psychology, Summa Cum Laude. Fascinated by the ideas of Karl Jung, she readily offered psychological insights on any situation and personality and shared them generously.

She and Bob were communicants of Church of the Ascension in Raleigh and for many years maintained its beautiful flower gardens.

She often said, “What goes first in life is the thing you love most,” and in her ‘80’s dementia set in. Still, she remained always in good humor, asking everyone multiple times, “Can you eat with us?”

Among her frequent sayings were: “We’re the most fortunate people who ever lived,” and “We don’t have a single stinker in the family.”

A celebration of life is being planned and will be held in the next few weeks. Memorial contributions may be made to Centers for Good Grief, https://baptistgriefcenters.org.