Joan Marie Burdette (April 16, 1938 - May 2, 2021) was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana to Homer and Edna Johnson. She attended grade school in Lawrenceburg before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio where she attended Our Lady of Angels High School. In Cincinnati she met and married Ralph D. Becker with whom she had six children: Steven Becker (Shannon), Cherie Melzer (Mike), Sandy Mergard (Tony), Craig Becker, Tina Oppenheimer (Andy), and Debbie Becker. In 1986 she met Tim Burdette. They married later that year and have been living happily in Knoxville, TN since 1988.
She is grandmother to Steven Jr., Patrick, Chelsea, Jennifer, Jason, Matt, Anthony, Craig Jr., Brandon, Corey, Nic, Ashley, Tom and Kati, and several great grandchildren.
Joan is the second oldest of 9 siblings: Mona Denton (Carl), Larry Johnson (Mary Ann), Mary Lou Horstman (Charlie), Bobby Johnson (Dorothy), Patti Viney, Kathy Knepper (Chris), Jeff Johnson (Linda), and Greg Johnson (Meg).
To those who know her as Joanie, wife, mom, grandma or Grams, she is a fiercely loving and loyal spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, friend, and mentor. She grew up during WWII and is remembered for her love of bubblegum during that time, which she would literally chew for days, storing it on her bedpost. She loved to read True Story nickel magazines in bed and fondly recalled her days as a carhop at the 62 Shop restaurant. She raised her six children as a single parent for most of her young life, often working two and three jobs to care for her family. Eventually, she worked and retired from Cincinnati Bell, but didn’t stop working as she acted as a much loved volunteer regional leader for The Girl Scouts of America in Knoxville for almost 20 years.
Her greatest and fondest times were spent in the kitchen. She was known far and wide for her cooking skills. She was especially well known for her homemade pickles, being dubbed by family members as the pickle queen. Her homemade jams, cookies, and candies, and especially her homemade vanilla fudge, were treasured by everyone who tasted them. She would fret for hours preparing family meals for the holidays, and there was never a stranger that she couldn’t befriend. She was loving, kind, smart, hardworking, plainspoken, honest, modest, generous, and unfailingly loyal to her family and friends. She will always be remembered for her willingness to help others, to provide her time and treasures in the service of anyone who needed it.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her sister Mary-Lou, her brothers Larry and Bobby, her son Craig, her grandchildren Jennifer and Jason and her Great-grandchild Elliana.
Visitation will be held Friday May 7th at Weaver Funeral home, 5815 Western Ave, Knoxville from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at which time a brief service will be held.
If you wish to honor her memory, in lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to The Girl Scouts of America. That would make her smile. Condolences are welcome at weaverfuneralservices.com
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