Honoring Joan Rae Gatlin

June 11, 1937 - June 24, 2024

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It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Joan Rae Gatlin, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and aunt, on June 24th, 2024, at the age of 87.

Born on June 11, 1937, in McKeesport Pennsylvania, Joan later moved to and grew up in Washington D.C. where she married and had three children. She also lived in Rocky River, Ohio, Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and Tampa, Florida, and spent the last chapter of her life in Tamarac, Florida.

She is survived by her three children, Judy Helen Leigh, Ellen Margo Brown, and Susan Lynn Tunstall; three grandchildren, Jeremiah Leigh, Gregory Brown, and Kevin Brown; four great-grandchildren, Olive Leigh, Violet Leigh, Owen Brown, and Seth Brown; and brother and sister, Samuel Itscoitz and Tillie Garfinkel. They all hold wonderful memories of her love for them.

Though they are no longer with us, she was a loving wife to Jerold Karp and William Gatlin.

She spoke of the importance of family and spearheaded annual family reunions so that her family could treasure each other and maintain their connections.

Joan was a wonderful and loyal friend. She loved jigsaw puzzles and playing bridge with her friends. She was a champion Scrabble player. She stayed connected with family and friends via Words with Friends and let her opponent know when they were taking too long to take their turn! She was very technologically savvy and loved texting to stay connected with others.

She once had a faithful companion named Rudy, an adorable shih-tzu. She brought him to the family reunions, and he brought her much joy for about 10 years.

Joan loved reading and she loved to watch and talk about politics with her brother and sister. She was strong in her political and social convictions and was a force to be reckoned with!

She loved watching television shows including “Dexter” and “Blue Bloods,” and she enjoyed conversing about the characters and episodes.

Above all, she was a strong, independent woman who lived a long, full life both loving and being loved by all her friends and family. She will be dearly missed.

Virtual Memorial Reception

Sunday July 14, 2024
2:00pm Eastern Time

Joan’s family invites you to join us for an interactive online memorial reception to honor her life and legacy. Please come ready to share your stories and tributes to Joan.

Slideshow

Guest Book

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Ellen Brown
7 months ago

Hi Mom-

I am going to get this “Guest Book” party started so others will follow suit! I’ll probably do more than one entry, so if you’re seeing this, you may get tired of me. I will miss you so much Mom. Thank you for teaching me what it means to be an independent and strong woman in a world that makes it difficult to do so. Thank you for our wonderful family reunions, which helped us all stay connected as a family. If anything follows this life as we know it, I hope and pray you are at peace. Love always, Ellen

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