After a lifetime working in medical fields including nursing and quality control, Joan C. Solomon (Joanie) died Sunday, September 30, 2018 in the Cameron Memorial Hospital in Angola, Indiana emergency room, where she suffered a split aortic embolism. Joanie and her husband Jay were in the midst of celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and heading for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to enjoy the fall colors. They stopped at the ER for a checkup after she felt discomfort in her chest, but the embolism ruptured before treatment could begin.
Joanie, 75, was born in Napoleon, Ohio October 31, 1942 to Carl and Ann (Bauer)Mueller. Survivors include her husband Jay of Atlantic Beach, Florida, a son Michael (Jacqueline) Solomon, grandchildren, Jenevieve (Tommy) Hornsby and Jacob Solomon, a sister, Mary Koehlinger of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a brother-in-law Harry (Sandy) Solomon of Ashtabula, Ohio. She was preceded in death by her parents, and a son, Daniel Solomon.
Joanie graduated from Toledo’s Mercy School of Nursing where she then worked in the burn and intensive care units. Moving in 1968 to Dayton when she married Jay, she entered service with private care physicians. That foretold their future as there were multiple moves because Jay’s career in broadcast news required moves around Ohio and then to San Antonio, Miami and ultimately Jacksonville where they have remained in their Atlantic Beach home for 26 years.
At each stop Joanie learned a new set of skills which put her in a position to take on greater challenges. Her final stop was Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic, where she first worked with launching a health insurance plan, and completed her career managing logistics for patients coming to the clinic from out of the area. Upon retirement, she returned to Mayo as a volunteer in the surgery waiting room.
Volunteering is a constant in Joanie’s life, from community theatre – where Joanie and Jay met – to running PTA carnivals, to church committees and serving lunches at Mission House in Jacksonville Beach, and in the last few years ushering at the Jacksonville Symphony. But the charity that captured her heart is the Rainbow Workshop at L’Arche, the residential community for adults with developmental disabilities located in Arlington. She worked with the community members in the clay room of the workshop for a number of years.
A memorial service will be held at 11 am Friday, October 5, 2018 at Community Presbyterian Church in Atlantic Beach, Florida where she has been a member for more than 20 years. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate contributions to the Rainbow Workshop at larchejacksonville.org.
Condolences may be sent online at www.beamsfuneralhome.com
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