Joan E. Martin

Joan Elizabeth Martin passed to the Spirit World on November 28, 2023. The daughter of Fred
and Anna Marie Warnecke, Joan was born in Princeton, Illinois on September 15, 1929.
When reminiscing about her childhood “adventures” Joan stated she was privileged to have
attended a one-room school where the teacher was challenged to instruct all eight grades. She
graduated from Princeton Township High School, attended Illinois Wesleyan College, and
obtained a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She was a member of
Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority and Phi Upsilon Omicrom.
In 1954, she married Jack Wayne Martin in Hawthorne, Nevada. They lived in Reno where he
attended UNR and she worked at the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Reno Metallurgy Research Center.
After a move to San Jose, California in 1969 Joan became a volunteer at Good Samaritan
Hospital of Santa Clara County and served on the Auxiliary Board. She was active for ten years,
with her husband, Wayne, in the Big Brother program of Santa Clara County. The Martin
doorbell rang often by neighbor children who asked “Aunt Joanie” if they could come in to play.
Joan enjoyed crafts, fishing, music, baking and books. She worked part-time in a high school
media center/library for San Jose Unified School District. When she and her husband moved
back to Reno in 1993, she volunteered at W.A.R.C. and later worked there part-time. She was a
member of the Friends of Washoe County Library.
Her husband, Wayne, died in 2012. In 2013 she moved to Ithaca New York to be near family.
She leaves behind nieces, nephews and friends. Joan was loved by children and adults and was
known for her famous “bear hugs” and her love of brownies. She was a loving, spiritual and
generous person and will be greatly missed.
Contributions in her memory can be sent to Washoe Ability Resource Center, P.O. Box 12337,
Reno, Nevada 89510.