Joan R. Lorentson

Joan Rae Gilchrist Lorentson, “Nana,” died on Monday, the 25th of March 2019. Born on the 13th of April 1931, to Ada and Harold Gilchrist, she is survived by her three children and their spouses, Ann and J. Kent Friedman, Lisa Lorentson and Robert Corsini, and Karen Lorentson and Yann Bertaud, two loving grandsons, Ryan Friedman and Nicholas Corsini, and her sister, Norma Lord. She is also survived by step-grandchildren, Beth and Mike Walters, Alison and George Belcher, Brent and Michele Friedman, Andrew and Robin Friedman, Margaux Corsini and Martin DeWinter, and Isabella Bertaud. She found her joy in interacting with her eight great-grandchildren, Kathryn and Logan Belcher, Cecilia and Eliza Friedman, Harrison Walters, and Ethan, Zachary and Sadie Friedman. Joan was predeceased by her husband, William Davey (Dave) Lorentson and her son, Steven James Lorentson.

Joan grew up in Kadoka, South Dakota, at the foothills of The Badlands. She attended the University of South Dakota where she was Phi-Beta Kappa. After graduation, Joan taught Latin and English in Nebraska. She married in 1954 and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she became a fulltime homemaker while her husband, Dave, completed graduate school.

Dave’s employment with General Electric took the couple and their children to many cities—Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Syracuse and Schenectady, New York, Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach, Florida, Houston, Texas, Federal Way, Washington, and finally, San Jose, California. Joan made many good friends along the way and was particularly fond of their wonderful neighbors on Maiden Lane in San Jose who were angels in their aging years.

As a mother, Joan was involved with her children as a volunteer in the schools, the church choir and Sunday School, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, Little League, and gymnastics. Her children remember returning home from school to the smell of freshly baked cookies and the sound of her playing the piano and singing. Gifted with the ability to play by ear, Joan could hear a tune and play it on the piano with a full accompaniment within minutes.

After Dave retired and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Joan headed the Volunteer Guild Gift Shop at the Sunnyvale Clinic. She also coordinated the speakers and refreshments for the Parkinson’s Support Group meetings in San Jose and later ran a “hospital” in her home to take care of Dave’s medical needs. In her free time, Joan was a genealogist, tracing her heritage back to the 1700s. She was an active member in the Santa Clara Daughters of the American Revolution.

While she had many health challenges after age 50, including breast cancer, a stroke, brain seizures, and multiple hospitalizations with broken bones, Joan always had a smile on her face and never complained. For the last 12 years of her life, she lived with her daughter, Ann, and son-in-law, Kenny.

Joan was the embodiment of humility and love. She was one of the few people in the world who lived the creed, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Her favorite song, “Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let It Begin with Me,” illustrated the way she approached her life. Joan was kind, self-effacing, and had a keen wit.

The family would like to thank her current caregivers Amalia Murland, Isabel Campos, and Margarita Posadas, as well as her previous caregivers and the many friends who reached out to her in Houston, especially, her “son of the heart” Steve Stellenwerf.

A memorial service and celebration of Joan’s life is to be conducted at one o’clock in the afternoon on Sunday, the 31st of March, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent grand foyer.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions, in honor of Joan Lorentson, may be directed toward Mental Health America of Greater Houston, 2111 Norfolk St., Houston, TX 77098, or online at http://mhahouston.org/donation/.