Joan Ruth Pepin

Joan was born and raised in La Grande, Oregon.  After graduating from La Grande High School, Joan attended Stanford University, where she was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.

While she was at Stanford, Joan’s parents, Dr. Frank and Ella Ralston moved to Walla Walla where her mother’s family had settled in the late 1800s.  Joan received her Bachelor of Arts from Stanford in June, 1945 and joined her parents in Walla Walla, WA.  While volunteering at the VA hospital, Joan met Larry Pepin, who was receiving treatment after serving in the South Pacific during the Second World War.  They married on 1 December 1945 and remained married until Larry’s passing in June 2007.

Joan was a loving and caring mother to her three children:  Larry (who passed away in 1967), Greg and Leslie, who reside in the Walla Walla area.

Joan learned Braille and for over 20 years, translating many college textbooks to Braille for blind college students.  Her children remember the sound of her punching the thick paper with the Braille alphabet, early in the morning during their school years.

She was a PEO Member and provided support to the worthwhile causes the organization selects.  Joan enjoyed golf, tennis, bridge, and was a superb cook.

Joan and Larry travelled to all of their son’s duty stations, to include making 16 trips to Turkey.  Joan loved being a grandmother to Matt and Kelly Lyons, attending all of their school events, as well as traveling with both of them to Washington DC.  She was thrilled to become a great-grandmother in 2016 to Benjamin and Samantha Lyons.

Joan was preceded in death by her brother John, son Terry, and husband Larry.

A Private family interment will be held.