Joanne Berner Shearer

Joanne Berner Shearer passed away peacefully on the morning of June 29th with her sons by her side. In the days preceding her death, she was surrounded by the friends and family who had meant so much to her over the course of her long and extraordinary life. Born in Philadelphia to the late George and Dorothy Berner, her childhood life was divided between the culture and vibrance of the city of Philadelphia and more pastoral and carefree summers in rural Collegeville, just outside of the city. She attended Germantown Friends School and Cheltenham High School in Philadelphia and often recalled fondly the many friendships and childhood adventures shared with her sister and parents during that time. Following high school, she moved to Lynchburg to attend Randolph Macon Women’s College, where she studied liberal arts and earned her teaching degree and license.

Joanne, better known as Jo to her friends and family, began her career in education as a second grade teacher at R.S. Payne Elementary School. Subsequently, she taught at Ruffner, Bass, and Paul Monroe Elementary Schools before earning her master’s degree and teaching credentials in special education from Lynchburg College. From there, she moved on to teach students with special needs at Sandusky and Tomahawk Elementary Schools before being named Director of Pupil Personnel for Campbell County Schools. She retired from the Virginia public school system after serving as director of the Laurel Regional School in Lynchburg. Following her retirement, she served for several more years as a guidance counselor for Central Virginia Community College. Throughout her career in education, her love for children and deep passion for helping them be successful, both in school and in life, was clearly evident to all who ever met or knew her. She worked tirelessly for the development of special programs that served to level the playing field for all children, regardless of circumstance or ability, and was a steadfast advocate for their teachers as well. This passion was apparent in the classroom, in her roles as an instructional leader, and in the many professional organizations she served at both local and state levels. These included, among others, The Virginia Council for Learning Disabilities, ARC of Central Virginia, Camp Child, and Camp Meadowlark.

Jo’s love of people in general, and children in particular, manifested in all aspects of her life. She was always a very active member of her church. As a founding member of Peakland United Methodist Church, she worked on lay committees to develop a multitude of ministries and programs that served both adult and youth-oriented missions. She taught both adult and children’s Sunday school classes and as a youth group leader was instrumental in the development of one of Lynchburg’s first and most active community youth activity centers. When she moved to the Timberlake area she joined Heritage United Methodist Church. Once again, she served tirelessly in a wide variety of church ministries and activities that directly addressed the needs of young people and the community at large. She was actively involved in these missions, including vacation bible school, well into her eighties. Her work with both churches was fueled by a strong and enduring faith in God, the church as a force for positive change, and the innate goodness of people. Jo lived by this ethos and instilled it in those around her throughout her entire life.

As much as she enjoyed her work at school and at her church, Jo was an intrepid lover of life. She delighted in learning all kinds of new things, and as a result, she possessed a broad knowledge of very interesting things. She was an expert at both plant and bird identification, which she learned from her mother. She had a deep understanding of nature and science, an attribute shared by her father and sister Dottie. She loved all manner of art and music and kept music, particularly classical piano, playing in her house almost all the time.

Jo’s desire to learn new things found her riding horses in her youth as well as young adulthood. She also pursued flying and was reportedly one of the first women in the Lynchburg area to earn her Private Pilot License. On the family farm, she drove a tractor/bush-hog and a bulldozer and was probably the only person on earth known to enjoy baling and getting up hay. For exercise, she loved to swim and continued doing so for nearly all her life. She also enjoyed walking in the woods and a good picnic. Most of all, though, she enjoyed being with and learning from people. She reveled in discussion and could converse with anyone, from any walk of life, for hours. Her love of all people was her greatest joy and perhaps her most endearing quality.

Her abiding love of people radiated the most brilliantly to those closest to her. She was always loving, loyal, and attentive to her family, her co-workers, and to a whole host of people she counted as close friends. Despite her devotion to work and her church, she always had time for her two children, her six grandchildren, her eight great-grandchildren, and her innumerable friends. She thoroughly enjoyed sharing in and celebrating their lives, their loves, and their accomplishments, as well as providing support in their times of need or loss. To her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, she was known as Grandma Jo and was dearly loved by them all. On more than one occasion, she took it upon herself to take her grandchildren camping, to museums, or on trips to see other friends and family. She was everyone’s favorite babysitter because she loved to play as much as the children did. She was as tireless in her love as she was in her work. By virtue of her loving, kind, thoughtful, and optimistic nature, she also served as an ever-present example for our own outlook on life and behavior towards one another.

She consistently modeled faith, courage, respect, integrity, kindness, grace, optimism, compassion, and especially unconditional love for all of us to see and learn from. She will always be remembered for these attributes and the wonderful influence she has had on each of our lives.

Jo is survived by her sons Elliott Lee (Mary) and George Scott (Angela) both of Lynchburg. She is warmly remembered as “Grandma Jo” by her grandchildren Justin (Anna) Shearer of Connecticut, Lauren (Eric) Harkness of Arlington, Clayton (Page) Shearer of Charlottesville, Daniel (Courtney) Shearer of Richmond; Chelsea Shearer of Charlottesville, and Dillon Shearer of Lynchburg. She was much loved by her great-grandchildren Alexander, Camden, Reese, Nicholas, Evelyn, Gabriel, Holden and Kit. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews dear to her heart as well.

Joanne was predeceased by her parents, Dr. George and Dorothy Berner of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is survived by her sister, Dr. Dorothy B. Berner of Brunswick, Maine.

A memorial service to honor Joanne’s life will be held on Saturday, August 19th, at 11:00 am, at Heritage United Methodist Church, 582 Leesville Road, Lynchburg, Virginia, with reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please choose your own favorite charity that serves the well being of children, feeds the hungry, or provides for the needs of those less fortunate than us, and make an appropriate donation in honor of Jo’s amazing life.