OBITUARY

Joan A Dutter

April 18, 1944 – January 10, 2021
Play Tribute Movie
×
Tribute Video

Joan A Dutter

Joan Anascavage Dutter, age 76, passed away peacefully with family early Sunday morning, January 10, 2021 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. She was born in Ridley Park, PA, April 18, 1944, to the late Walter and Josephine Anascavage. Joan grew up in Shamokin, PA and graduated from Coal Township High School in 1962. In 1965, she graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry after just three years. In the fall of 1965, she married Wilbert A. Dutter of Pottsville, PA before heading to the University of Maryland to study analytical chemistry. When her husband received his Army orders to report to Mannheim, Germany, she left the University of Maryland and headed out for the first of their many adventures. Her first job was working in the education center in Mannheim. When her husband went to Vietnam, Joan decided to pursue her teaching credentials at Bloomsburg Teachers College in Pennsylvania and started her lifelong love of teaching as a full-time math teacher at Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania. Joan left her career to raise three daughters for the next 10 years living in Virginia, Maryland and Izmir, Turkey. In 1978, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri where she went back to teaching Chemistry, Physics and Math at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Manchester, Missouri. Three years later, the family moved to Frankfurt, Germany where she taught Physics from 1981-1985 at Frankfurt American High School. The pinnacle of her career was Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia where she predominately taught Physics from 1985-2012 and served as the science department chair for many years. Joan was instrumental in expanding AP science courses at Walton High School which led to her receiving the Siemans AP Teachers Award. She coached students in Physics Bowl and Science Olympiad competitions and sponsored the Science club. Her teams won many awards placing in regional, state and national competitions. She was passionate about evolving her classroom experience and was a pioneer of implementing technology in the classroom. She shared her love of Physics by inspiring her students, mentoring colleagues, and sharing her innovative ideas with other educators in regional and national forums. After “retirement”, she came back to teach a couple AP courses for another 5 years until 2019. During her career, she continued to advance her own education achieving a Master of Science degree in Management from Troy State University and completing the education requirements for a PhD in science education from Georgia State University. Joan is survived by her three daughters and sons-in-laws, Elisabeth and Reed Goodwin of Marietta, GA; Kristen and Brent Barfield of Kennesaw, GA; and Meredith and Stephen Brennan of Union, Kentucky and seven grandchildren, Reston and Ella Goodwin; Madison, Kaden, and Seth Barfield; Conor and Ryan Brennan. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband. Visitation will be at 1:00pm at H.M. Patterson & Son - Canton Hill Chapel, Marietta, GA followed by a memorial service at 2:00pm. There will be an online slide show and place to send condolences at hmpattersoncantonhill.com. Her final resting place will be in Arlington National Cemetery with Will. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to The DASH Families Foundation Inc., an organization created by Will and Joan Dutter to fund scholarships and research grants for students in economically disadvantaged regions. Memorial donations to The DASH Families Foundation can be mailed to Fifth Third Bank, 4209 Rowell Road, Marietta, GA 30062.

  • DONATIONS

  • THE DASH FAMILIES FOUNDATION INC.
Add a
Memory Receive
Notifications

Services

  • Memorial Service

    Saturday, January 16, 2021

Receive
Notifications Show Your
Support

Memories

Joan A Dutter

have a memory or condolence to add?

ADD A MEMORY
Sylvia Costa

January 21, 2021

What a beautiful tribute and memories of Joan. Looking at most of those pictures took me back when I was 10 or 11 and my cousin Joan was my teenage idol. She was so beautiful and always dressed so cool. I wanted to be like her. Then Aunt Josie started to give my mom Joanie's hand me downs. Once there was a blue and white two piece bathing suit that I adored. Joan was about 7 years older so her clothes were a little big for me. I couldn't wait to wear it so I had my mom take it in and I wore it to Edgewood pool that summer. I had a beautiful white sweater that had pearls on the top front. I gave it back to Joan after all these years at Aunt Martha's passing a few years ago. Joanie was a beautiful person both inside and out. She will be remembered for her soft spirit and gentle soul.

Sommy Khalaj

January 16, 2021

Hi,
Firstly, I want to give my condolences to the family. I’m so sorry for your loss. Ms. Dutter was the single best teacher I’ve ever had. Her calm demeanor, her clever jokes, and her style of teaching are some of the things I admire the most about her. I studied AP mechanical physics and electro-magnetism in her classes at Walton in 2011-13, and I think I was one of the students lucky enough to have her as teacher for two straight years. In fact, she made me fall in love with physics so much that I went on to Georgia Tech to study mechanical engineering. Now I’m at NASA, Johnson Space Center in Houston working as a robotics flight controller and astronaut instructor in Mission Control. That’s how far inspiration goes - ad astra, to the stars. Thank you for everything, Ms. Dutter.

Ananthi Palamuthu

January 16, 2021

Mrs. Dutter, you have always been a supportive caring neighbor, an awesome mentor to my kids, an amazing driveway companion, and a great role model. You will be dearly missed. May your sweet soul rest in peace.

Abhi Nathan

January 16, 2021

I am so grateful to have known Mrs. Dutter. I remember discovering that my AP Physics teacher was my neighbor in the first few days of junior year and anxiously approaching her door with cookies. I quickly learned that Ms. Dutter was truly one of a kind - she made physics classes fun and she handled our often rambunctious class with her characteristic wit. It was evident that she cared deeply about her students and she was always available to explain particularly difficult concepts with kindness and clarity. Her support as a teacher and mentor was so meaningful to me in high school and throughout college.

I remember one day my brother and I came to be locked out of our house and ended up spending some time chatting with Mrs. Dutter in her living room. As we looked around the room and she kept us entertained with stories from her family’s time living abroad, it was clear that she had lived such an interesting and fulfilling life. I am so glad I had the chance to learn from her excellent teaching and also from the exemplary way in which she carried herself throughout her life. She is truly a role model to everyone whose life she touched. I’ll miss our chats at your doorway and your unmatched passion, humor, and kindness, Mrs. Dutter.

May you rest well and thank you for everything.

Karen Burns

January 16, 2021

I remember Mrs. Dutter in more of a mom capacity as her daughters friend that lived down the street. She reminded me of the people and neighbors I loved and left behind when we moved from Pittsburgh to Marietta, which gave me a sense of home. Her caring and compassion, but yet also a directness and her matter of fact way. You can tell she has such pride in her heritage, all the places they had lived, her accomplishments, and her family. From the moment you walked in the house there was culture everywhere, from the decor to the foods she would make, to the family traditions, things that represented a lifetime. More than anything though, as we got older, the moments that I got to see her and spend some time with her, I loved hearing her stories and her witty sense of humor, which she definitely passed down to her daughters. I could of sat and talked to her for hours and she could make me laugh for days.

I love you all and am so sorry for your loss.

Maggie Zhang

January 16, 2021

I had the unbelievable honor of being in her last class before she officially retired in 2019. Mrs. Dutter was quite a celebrity as I heard about her greatness for years from my brother, friends, and other teachers and I was so excited to be her student. After being scarred by physics mechanics, learning under Mrs. Dutter sparked my passion for physics again and motivated me to never be afraid of any problem before me ever again. Her expertise, calm composure, and witty responses were the highlight of my senior year and I honestly can’t imagine who I would be without the sprinkle of her in my life. I think about her and her fun physics demonstrations every day when I am in any of my physics-related courses in college and never fail to muse, Dutter definitely teaches this better. Her love and compassion filled every ounce of what she did and I am so so grateful that I got to experience it. I have no doubt of the greatness of her legacy.

May she rest well and have physics challenges to play with, always.

Caroline Ross

January 15, 2021

I had the pleasure of being Joan’s colleague at Walton High School from 1988 - 1998. Her intelligence was evident in her teaching and inspiring of her students. Her pleasant, calm personality was another positive for those of us who interacted with her every school day.

My sincere condolences to her family, friends and many former students.
Caroline Ross, former Walton HS Assistant Principal

Nathan Abraham

January 15, 2021

I will always remember her lecture on momentum, where she weighed the pros and cons of hitting Avi Levine with a tennis ball moving very fast versus hitting him with a semi truck moving very slowly.  It was as much about math behind it as it was a warning shot across the bow that we needed to stop talking.

An amazing teacher and science bowl / olympiad sponsor.  May her memory be a blessing.

Nathan Abraham
Class of '99

Ann Baxley

January 15, 2021

Joan was a brilliant, giving and caring lady, and I will treasure all she did for me as a teacher at Walton. I especially appreciate the first 3 years in the adjoining classroom to hers, where she was an unsurpassed mentor. She built such a department rapport with hosting wonderful department lunches, providing the best white-elephant gift exchange, and always doing everything in her power to support us as teachers. She was always dedicated to helping students succeed.

Joan has touched SO many lives, and the way she helped us grow will be felt and spread for ages to come.

Marjorie Strayer Prindle

January 14, 2021

Elisabeth and family, my sincerest condolences to you. You will be in my prayers as you celebrate her life this weekend.

Mrs. Dutter was a fantastic, patient teacher. I was not a great student of physics, but I passed with her tutelage!

FROM THE FAMILY
FROM THE FAMILY

Joan 3 months old

FROM THE FAMILY

Joan with Walter (father) and Sister Maureen (aunt)

FROM THE FAMILY
FROM THE FAMILY
FROM THE FAMILY

Joan with parents

FROM THE FAMILY

Joan's First Communion

FROM THE FAMILY

Joan with Josephine (mother)

FROM THE FAMILY
FROM THE FAMILY