Joan Mary Powers

Joan Mary Powers (nee Staples) of Kennesaw, Georgia passed away peacefully at Northside Hospital in Cherokee, on April 25, 2026, due to complications stemming from pneumonia. She was 87 years old. Joan is survived by her younger siblings Margaret and Fred, 5 children - Thomas, Kevin, Richard, Elizabeth, and Jennifer, 17 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her first-born son, Eugene who passed away in 2008.

Joan was born in Brooklyn, New York to Frederick and Adele Staples on March 9, 1939. She was a Brooklyn girl through and through – independent, principled, tough, resourceful, and authentic. She raised 6 children, was an active member of St. Benard’s Parish, and after the family moved to West Islip, St. Joseph’s Parish in Babylon, NY. Joan also served in several leadership positions with the Catholic Daughters of America local chapter. When her husband lost his union job due to the recession in the mid-70s, Joan helped establish and run a successful family hardware business for over a decade. She was involved in every aspect of the business. She opened and closed the store, served customers, repaired screens, and kept the books.

After 25 years of faithful marriage and a difficult divorce which forced her to close the hardware store, Joan reinvented herself by training to become a nurse, a vocation for which she was ideally suited. Throughout her 20-year nursing career on Long Island and then northern Florida, Joan committed herself to providing warm, loving, high-quality care to all her elderly patients. Her commitment included confronting facility management from time to time about the standard of care and meeting her patient’s medical needs. She often worked long hours and was required to perform tasks that were physically demanding. All the while, Joan remained focused on keeping her family connected. After three of her children relocated down south, Joan moved to Palm Coast, Florida, and used her savings and stretched her monthly budget to buy a house big enough with a pool for all the children and grandchildren to visit, gather for holiday celebrations and family functions, or just vacation.

When Joan retired from nursing, she moved to Kennesaw, Georgia and lived with her youngest daughter, son-in law, and their two children. In Kennesaw, Joan was active in the community by volunteering at Addison elementary school in Marietta. There she taught health lessons to kindergarteners and special education students and read with kids who had nobody to read with at home. Joan also zealously advocated for teachers to include writing many strongly worded letters to state legislators, school board members, and administrators on their behalf. She ran a local book club at the public library and judged annual art contests for the PTA.

Joan was devoted to her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren until the end. Her love was unconditional and her support steadfast. She was always available any time of day or night to visit or just talk on the phone. If asked, she dispensed prudent, practical, no-nonsense advice, the product her singular intelligence and life experience. She was a voracious reader, a great cook, an avid Mets fan. She loved parlor and card games, Yorkie terriers, and all things giraffe.

The family matriarch was deeply loved and will be sorely missed.

Memorial services will be held on Long Island, NY at later date to be determined.

Donations can be made to Must Ministries at: https://mustministries.org/