JoAnn M Eichner

JoAnn Mansfield Eichner was born Feb., 11, 1932 in Etowah, Tenn. Her fathers’ family was from Bartow County, Ga., south of Cartersville (But above Emerson). The Mansfield’s had farmed it since the original Patrick Mansfield founded it in the 1950’s, before the Civil Way and infest sued the Federal Government for the livestock taken and the damages of 1864.

JoAnn’s mothers family, the Ramsey’s, were from Murray County, Ga., below the Tennessee border. The family was unusual because the founder of the farm in RamHurst had been born in the 18th century during the presidency of George Washington and his daughter; JoAnn’s grandmother had been born in 1860, when Lincoln was elected.

Both families were numerous and Patrick Mansfield, JoAnn’s father was an engineer on the L & N Railroad during the Depression. Then they moved to Athens, Tennessee. Her father took leave from the railroad to become Sheriff of McMinn County during the war, and in 1945-46 was elected State Senator.

After 1946, the family moved to Atlanta, Ga., and her father returned to the railroad for the rest of his life. JoAnn graduated from Grady High School and then attended Ward Belmont, a girl’s school in Nashville, Tennessee. Upon graduation she entered the airlines business with Delta and became the reservation manager with Southern Airways.

In 1958, she met her future husband, I. John Eichner, Jr., when their respective airlines had an air route case that lasted several months in Atlanta. They were married on May 17, 1958 in Atlanta and their first son, I. John Eichner (Jay) was born Feb, 1959

They settled in Houston where her husband was in the airlines business, when their second son Patrick was born on November 14, 1960. In 1961 they moved to Westport, Ct. because her husband became an officer of American Airline for five years. During that period their daughter, Malinda was born on July 20, 1963.

In 1966, he joined two friends in forming a new airline consulting firm SH&E, which kept them living in Westport and working in New York and many foreign countries for the next 29 years until 1995. In 1986, JoAnn became an Ada Comstock Scholar at Smith College for 1 ½ years. In 1994 they purchased a retirement home in the Island Club and they moved to St. Simons Island, Ga.

By then their family consisted of Jay, Patrick & Malinda and they respective spouses, Margaret, Darlene and Krister. By then there were seven grandchildren, Jay and Margaret had L. John IV, Matthew and Joseph in Geneva, Florida. Patrick and Darlene had Meghan and Patrick Mansfield Eichner of Mountainside, N.J., Krister and Malinda Johnson had Ingrid and William in the Eichner Home in Westport, CT (of course, the grandchildren are mostly of college age by now. John IV has been in the Navy for almost 7 years, some of that time in the Middle East during War in Iraq. Matt is in Geneva, Florida and Joseph is a junior at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. Meghan is a Graduate student at SMU in Texas, Ingrid and Patrick are sophomores at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD., William is a junior in high school in Westport, CT.

There will be a Celebration of Life Service on Monday 2/11/13 at 2 O’Clock in the St. Simons Presbyterian Church with Rev. Robert Brearley officiating.

The family will receive friends in the Social Hall of the Church after the Services. The family request in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either St. Simons Island Presbyterian Church Sunday School of the Hospice of the Golden Isles, Brunswick, Georgia.

Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home and Oglethorpe Crematorium in charge of arrangements.