Joan Sybil Van Over

Mrs. Joan Sybil Van Over, 93, of Evansville, Indiana passed away on February 9, 2022. Joan followed her husband of over 70 years, Dr. Harlan Clay Van Over, who passed in 2021. She is survived by her daughter Cheryl Joel

Van Over, and her granddaughter Ainsley and grandson Stuart, and their respective daughters, Hadley and Jeanine, her great granddaughters.

Joan was born in Carlisle, Indiana to Leland F. Anderson and Margaret M. Anderson (nee Westfall) on April 14, 2028. Her father owned and was the druggist at the Anderson Drug Store in Carlisle, where Joan spent many happy years enjoying the old fashion soda counter, making ice cream sodas and malts, and many other drinks. She met her husband, Harlan, at the drug store, a gathering place for Carlisle. She was married in the Christen Church there in 1947 shortly after she graduated from Carlisle High School.

Joan remained close to her relatives, many who lived in Vincennes and other parts of Indiana, and other states, as the years passed. She looked forward to the family reunions which were held for many years and remained in touch diligently, even as she moved to many other states over the years, supporting her husband’s careers in business and as a professor.

Joan was a creative woman, who was known for her deep love of nature and all animals. She became a Certified Master Gardner, and a Certified Floral Designer, and worked at The Flower Shop in Evansville for several years. Feeding the ducks who visited her back yard near a stream and the feral cats she protected in a crate in the winters, feeding squirrels and birds, gave her many happy hours. She and her husband kept two of the feral kittens who befriended them, and the one that survives her lives with her beloved care giver during her last two years, Dotty.

Joan will be remembered for her deep friendships, her faith, her service to others in need of her help and wisdom, her abiding support of her family, and her church, and by her abundant sense of humor and funny stories, often about herself. She had a ready laugh for the circumstances of her life, and never laughed at others, only with others. All who knew Joan will miss her gentle soul and her quick wit, as her presence remains in our hearts.

Joan asked me to offer this uplifting poem, in remembering:

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep, by Mary Elizabeth Frye:

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die…

Please consider making a donation to a local animal shelter or animal rescue organization

of your choice in Joan’s name. Please contact Joan’s daughter with any questions, Cheryl

Joel Van Over (known as Joelle), [email protected].