Life for Joanne Conlon began on March 15, 1937. She was the first-born daughter of Joe and Lois Kuhns. Her sister, Penny, followed a few years later, and together they all thrived in the post-war era community of Steubenville, Ohio.
Joanne went off to school at The Ohio State University where she met and fell in love with our father, James Conlon. She knew he was the one for her and, rather than waiting for him to pop the question, she asked him “when are you going to marry me?” They have been inseparable for the 60 years ever since. That was her nature. She knew what she wanted and wasn’t shy about letting you know.
It always started with a sly smile that engaged the curious. A natural storyteller, Joanne often played with that curiosity in a way that was rewarding for both the teller and the told. Her eyes crinkled and the lips turned upward with each story’s re-telling, cementing her personal history with us. Those within her orbit all felt privileged to be part of her gravitational pull and we will miss her terribly now that her star has gone out.
But, as she would say to us, go on and shine yourselves! Quoting Dylan Thomas and saying “do not go gentle into that good night,“ she would chide us all to live as she would have, with passion enough for two lives packed into a determined woman with red hair, brown eyes, and a fierce love for her family, friends and faith.
Joanne will be greatly missed by her husband, Jim; her sister and her husband (also named Jim), as well as her children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; and as well the family friends that she knew and loved as part of the communities she belonged to, including the University of South Alabama and the Congregation of Ahavas Chesed.
As Dad would say, she was a first-class human being and will be missed by all!
Graveside services will be held on Friday, November 16, 2018, at 2 p.m. in Ahavas Chesed Cemetery. Condolences may be offered at www.radneyfuneralhome-mobile.com.
