Joanne Forinash

Shirley Joanne (Evans) Forinash, my beautiful little redhead, went to be with her Lord and Savior on April 3, 2025, at the age of 86. She suffered from a long painful back illness in her later years and was a survivor of breast cancer but now is walking around Heaven free from all pain.

Joanne was born on August 4, 1938, in New Zion, South Carolina, to Cornelia and Willie Evans, the 6th of nine children. She grew up on a 40-acre cotton and tobacco farm where everyone worked every day just to survive. As a young girl, she was a fast cotton picker, dragging a heavy bag of cotton down the long rows. She helped plant tobacco, helped with tobacco harvesting, and was deeply involved in tobacco curing, although she never smoked in her entire life. She belonged to the local 4-H Club and learned to sew clothes (made many of her own), cook, and keep house in that arena. At the age of 10, she started cooking on a wood stove for the entire family. A notable achievement was being selected, as a 4-H club member, to be the South Carolina state cherry pie baking champion. She was a loyal church member and regularly attended church services her entire life. She said the blessing for every meal.

After graduating with honors from East Clarendon County High School in 1956, she worked at several different businesses, primarily as a clerk. In late 1956, she moved to Sumter, S.C., lived with her older sister and her brother-in-law, and worked as a bookkeeper in the accounting department at the upscale Belks-Stroman department store. In late January 1957, she met her soon to be husband of 67 years. They became engaged on her birthday in 1957 and were married on November 23, 1957. They first lived in a small one-bedroom upstairs apartment before moving three months later into their first owned home in Sumter. On March 1, 1959, their first son (Terry) was born at the base hospital at Shaw AFB. Seeking to become a military officer, her husband applied for and was accepted into Officer Candidate School (OCS), located in San Antonio, Texas. They sold their house in August 1959 and moved into an apartment in San Antonio, where she and her son lived while her husband attended OCS on Lackland AFB.

Upon graduation from OCS In March 1960, her husband was assigned to Lackland as a Military Training Officer for a year. They bought a house behind Lackland and their daughter (Brenda) was born on June 25, 1960, at the base hospital. Joanne and her family then moved to Greenville, Mississippi, in March, 1961, where her husband attended Personnel Officer School for three months, before moving to Plattsburgh AFB, New York. At Plattsburgh, they lived in base housing. Their third and last child (Glenn) was born on November 17, 1961. When her husband was assigned to Southeast Asia during the Viet Nam War, Joanne moved back to Sumter and took care of her three small children for an entire year—never getting to talk to her husband. In January 1965, Joanne and family moved to Hampton, Virginia, and bought a house near Langley AFB, where her husband was assigned. In August 1965, Joanne and family moved to Omaha, Nebraska, while her husband completed his college degree. In June 1966, she moved back to her house in Hampton. In August 1967, she moved to Boulder, Colorado, while her husband completed a master’s degree at the University of Colorado.

In August 1968, she moved with her family to Wiesbaden, Germany, where they lived for the next four years. They bought a Volkswagen camper and travelled all over Europe and the United Kingdom, sightseeing in every major city. They took numerous cruises on the Rhine and Danube rivers and traveled to Greece (seeing the Acropolis) and to Cairo, Egypt, visiting the Sphinx and the three great Pyramids of Giza. In Germany, she was a Cub Scout Leader trainer and was one of the first women presented with the highest honor given to Scout leaders—the Silver Fawn—equal to the Silver Beaver award given to male Scout leaders. It was presented in a formal ceremony at the headquarters of the 4-star General commanding all American forces in Europe.

She was introduced to volksmarching (folk walks) in Germany and completed sanctioned (set up and approved 6 mile walks by the international walking association) all over the world, including China (on the Great Wall), Japan (Nagasaki bomb site), Singapore, Hong Kong, and numerous other sites. As a member of the American Volkssport Association (AVA), she eventually walked 6 miles in every state and every state capitol, and in the nation’s capital, Washington, D. C. She kept track of every place walked and the total miles walked—totaling about 22,000, miles more than the average person over a period of 20 years. After a six month stay in Norfolk, Va., while her husband attended the Armed Forces Staff College, she moved with her family to Universal City, TX, in January 1973. She lived there for 13 years. Her husband retired from the U.S. Air Force after almost 26 years of service at the end of August 1979. It was here that Joanne decided to re-enter the work force and got a job as a professional bookkeeper/accountant. Over the next 30 years, she worked for several small businesses and eventually for one of the largest accounting firms in San Antonio. She joined the AVA as their Financial Manager and volunteered to be the Regional Director for the numerous clubs in Texas and New Mexico. She received several accolades for the outstanding work she performed, including being named to the AVA’s Hall of Fame. In 1986, they sold their home in Universal City and designed their dream house that was built in the north central part of San Antonio. It was here that Joanne lived with her husband for the rest of their lives. Joanne was forever the most gracious host, always putting the needs and wants of others before her own. She was the last to sit down and the first to get up in serving her family and others. This is one case in which the Lord God would say “This is a person in whom I am well pleased.”

She is survived by her husband Carlen, three children; Terry (Judy) Forinash, Brenda Bull, Glenn (Sharon) Forinash, 10 grandchildren, and 18 great grandchildren. Joanne is also survived by her brother, Alfred Ronald Evans. Joanne leaves behind a lasting legacy of kindness, strength, and unwavering love.

The family will be receiving friends on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, from 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. at Porter Loring Mortuary North, 2102 North Loop 1604 East, followed by a Memorial Service at 1:00 P.M. in the chapel.

Interment will follow at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate) in Joanne’s name. The family invites you to take a walk, write a card to someone you love, or lend a helping hand in your community just as Joanne would have done.

The Memorial and Interment will be livestreamed at the below link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kf_FTiTi3YXJ7K8qNKbiR4gHIbyAZxnr/view?usp=sharing