Joan was born November 13, 1934 in Klamath Falls, Oregon to Robert and Lois (McCandless) Parker. She and her sister Darlene completed their family. At a young age her family moved to the Portland area where her father and grandfather worked at the shipyards and Joan grew up attending local public schools before graduating from Girls Poly High School.
While in High School, Joan worked at the Roseway Theater where she met a young U.S. Marine named Charles Fieldhouse. They were engaged before Joan graduated from high school and were married in 1954. Together they raised their three daughters, Marvis, Sharon and Patti and they celebrated sixty-one beloved years of marriage before Charles passed away in 2016.
Joan enjoyed creating and crafting with her hands. She was skilled in knitting, crocheting, and sewing. She worked in the home until her children were old enough to attend school. Joan then worked for many years at JC Penny and Pendleton Woolen Mills, where her sewing skills made her the fastest seamstress at hemming pockets.
Joan and Charles were proud and hardworking members of the working class of Portland. Joan would pack their sack lunches every day and never forgot a homemade dessert. Joan and Charles spent their time enjoying many different activities together including listening to music of many varieties, taking long drives, and baking. Their home was never without a tasty desert to share with visitors. Joan always loved to be surround by her family and will be remembered for instilling her strong work ethic into her children’s lives.
Joan also had a huge heart for animals. She cared for cats and dogs until late into her life and even had turtles, gerbils, and fish at times. But she always said that if she could have any pet in the world, she would have chosen a baby elephant!
The last few years of Joan's life was spent in the loving care at Laurelhurst House Assisted Living because of a diagnosis of dementia. Joan always knew who her children and family members were when they came to visit, and for that her family is truly grateful.
Joan was preceded in death by her parents, sister, and beloved husband. She is survived by and will be dearly missed by her three daughters, Marvis Lynn Gellings, with husband, Craig of Portland, Sharon Kay Schoenborn, with husband, Dan, of Mulino, and Patricia Anne McCann of Portland; grandchildren Mindy Kay (Leasure) Palmer of Oregon City, Tracy Romaine Vendituoli of Sonoita, AZ, Michael Anne McCann of Cleveland, OH, Mikko McCann of Portland, and Charles Gellings of Portland; and great-grandchildren Sophie and Luke Vendituoli and of Sonoita, AZ, and Ezra and Solomon McCann of Portland.
