Joan Marie Hobart Mcpherson

With great sadness, the family of Joan Marie Hobart McPherson announces the loss of their mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother on May 7, 2022, just five days following her 90th birthday and the day before Mother’s Day. Everybody’s Mom, Joan, was well-loved by her family and so many friends, friends of her children, and former students. She will be greatly missed.

Joan was born May 2, 1932, in Portland, Oregon, to Alvin Dewey Hobart and Phyllis Ellen (Lyne) Hobart. She was devoted to her grandfather Henry Lyne. Although raised in Portland with her brother, Arthur Lyne, and sister, Betty Ellen, Joan’s parents established a presence at Cannon Beach, Oregon, in the 1940s, a presence that remains to this day. Joan instilled in her children and grandchildren a love for the ocean beaches and provided beach memories that will live on long after her mortal passing.

Joan graduated from Franklin High School in Portland in 1950 and then entered Oregon State College (now University). Before graduating in 1954 with a degree in Home Economics, she met a handsome man, Robert David (“Tex”) McPherson, a member of Alpha Tau Omega, who served as house boy for her sorority, Pi Beta Phi.  Bob and Joan were married six days following graduation and began a wonderful life together that lasted until Bob’s passing in 2012.

When first married, Bob was in the military, and the two of them lived in Mississippi and then Japan (where they greeted their firstborn, Scott Alvin McPherson) until Bob’s discharge. Thereafter they returned to Oregon (where they greeted their second born, Sally Joan McPherson) but, because of Bob’s job, they moved to Colorado, then to Bellevue, Washington (where they completed their family with the addition of Stacy Ellen McPherson), and finally to Walla Walla.

Bob and Joan loved Walla Walla. Bob became a partner in Van Petten Lumber Company, and they decided to make Walla Walla their permanent home, considering it the perfect place to raise their children. Thus settled, Joan went back to school, earning her teaching certificate at Walla Walla College and then getting her Fifth Year at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, bringing her girls with her while she attended class. The boys were left behind to mind the homestead and fend for themselves, which they did with baseball and copious amounts of ham and cheese sandwiches and bean and bacon soup.

After getting certified, Joan began her full-time career as an educator. Initially, she was in the classroom but shortly moved into the place she loved – the library. She served as librarian/media specialist at Berney Elementary School until her retirement in June of 1996, where she was known and loved for her story telling (especially Horton Hears a Who ), creating beautiful visual art on her bulletin boards, and assuming character when needed. None of her students could forget her witch’s cackle!!!

Joan and Bob created a beautiful home for their family on what was then the outskirts of town in the early 1970s. There Joan was able to fulfill yet another passion of hers – gardening and interior design. She created an oasis of loveliness in both her home and her backyard, where the McPhersons entertained for many years. It remained Joan’s home after her loss of Bob in 2012 until her move to Wheatland about six years ago.

Bob’s retirement from Baker Boyer Bank, where he worked after Van Petten, and Joan’s retirement from teaching allowed the two to begin traveling together in earnest. They enjoyed spending time in Arizona and Hawaii, cruising to Alaska and traveling to Amsterdam, and embarking on a cross-Canadian train trip. They were able to spend extended time in Louisiana, where their son had settled, so they could spend quality time with their grandchildren, taking and retrieving them from school and relishing similar activities that nearby grandparents enjoy every day. And then, of course, was their much-loved time at the beach, where all would gather and do everything or nothing. Those times were the best.

Joan loved books, music, and cats. She was an avid reader and passed that passion down to her children and grandchildren. She loved belonging to her Literary Ladies Group. In later years macular degeneration took away her ability to read, but she was still able to enjoy books through audiobooks and the voice of her daughter, Stacy, who would often read to her. She was also an active member of Chapter FT P.E.O.

Joan was a two-time breast cancer survivor and, as she aged, faced multiple health issues and indignities. But she gave them all a valiant fight and maintained her sense of humor. She brought joy wherever she went, and no one was ready to lose her. We all cherish every moment she gave us.

Joan is survived by her children, Scott (Kathy) of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Sally (Melinda) of Portland, Oregon, and Stacy of Walla Walla, and her grandchildren, Sally Brockman (George) of Lake Charles and Robbie (Mallory) of Portland, and her great-grandson, Theodore Lewis Brockman.  She also leaves behind many cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews, all of whom loved her dearly. She was predeceased by her husband, Bob, her parents, Alvin and Phyllis Hobart, her brother, Arthur Hobart, and her sister, Betty Butcher Cheadle.

There are many people the family would like to thank for the help and care given to Joan in her final years, too numerous to name individually. But we are sincerely grateful for Stacy’s role in Mom’s care in her later years, especially making sure Mom made it to the Oregon Coast regularly. And Meghan Hickerson was a dear friend and help to Joan after Bob passed away.

A celebration of life for Joan will be held in Walla Walla in late July. A private interment will take place at Smyrna Congregational Church near Canby, Oregon.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that anyone wishing to remember Joan donate to a charity close to their own heart through the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder St., Walla Walla, WA 99362. Some of Joan’s favorite charities were Northwest Public Broadcasting, the Blue Mountain Humane Society, and the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival.