A graduate of North Side High School and Indiana University, Joan was a lover of life. She was known for her travels, her love of coffee, chocolate, cats, ladybugs, movies, music and the arts; but most of all she will be remembered for being a doting aunt, a great friend, and a devoted teacher.
She was relentlessly positive and a shining beacon of joy to everyone she met.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Katherine and her brother, Bill.
She is survived by her nephew, Patrick Gotschall; niece, Katrina (Mike) Sheets; great-nieces and nephews, Michaela Sheets, Maygan Sheets, Monika Sheets, Kyle Sheets, Kaleb Sheets, and Karsten Sheets. She also leaves behind a legacy with the hundreds of students she shepherded through Room 6 of Southern Heights Elementary School.
A funeral service will be held at 11 am on Friday, August 13, 2021 with calling one hour prior at D.O. McComb and Sons Lakeside Park Funeral Home, 1140 Lake Ave., Fort Wayne, IN 46805.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 12, 2021 from 6 pm to 8 pm also at the funeral home.
Burial will take place in Greenlawn Memorial Park, Ft. Wayne, IN.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
