Joan Elizabeth Coleman, age 89, of Flora, Illinois, passed away Tuesday, December 20, 2022.

     Joan was born the daughter of Louis James “Toots” and Mary Katherine “Kay” Emling February 22, 1933.  She was raised in DuQuoin, Illinois, with her sister Verda and this is where she met the love of her life, Thomas “Ed” Coleman.  Joan and Ed were childhood sweethearts and celebrated 69 years of marriage this past summer.

     Joan and Ed were united in marriage on June 28, 1953.  Before moving to Flora, they lived in DuQuoin and Paris, Illinois where Joan spent many nights watching Ed coach at PHS.  Together Joan and Ed ran the Surf Club for many years as they raised their young sons.  They have resided in Flora since 1975 and enjoyed spending time with their family, attending many Flora High School games and school activities.  During those games, Joan created a bond with a lifelong friend Maxine Jones and they continued to hand write letters to each other about their families.  Joan enjoyed watching the wildlife in their backyard from their back porch overlooking the pond.  Joan had long loved admiring two forms of birds, the beautiful creatures with feathers and wings, and those who wore jerseys playing baseball as the St. Louis Cardinals.  Just as Joan was a cheerleader for DHS, she was a cheerleader for all of her kids and grandkids in all of their activities and throughout their years of education.  She was extremely proud of all of her family and the success that they have accomplished.

     Ed and Joan had three children that she was very proud of, Jim (Angie) Coleman of Texas and Florida, Mark (Cathy) Coleman of Flora and Amy Beth (Kerry) Herdes of Xenia.  Joan was also very loved by her 12 grandchildren, Courtney (Aaron) Wyman, Ashlee (Blake) Knearem, Damien “DJ” Coleman, Bryton (Torrey) Herdes, Morgan Coleman and Eliza Beth Herdes.  They were blessed with 5 great-grandchildren, Baylee Wilkins, Breyden Knearem, Delia Knearem, Mia Grace Herdes and Cohen “CJ” Herdes.    Joan also had Eden and Emery Quinn as great-great-grandchildren.  She also had extra grandchild Dylan Wiley and great-grandchildren Brantley and Hazel Wiley.  Bonus great-granddaughter Willow was also a blessing to the family.

     Joan was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, in-laws and sister.  She was also preceded in death by her loving stepfather John H. Little who married her mother after the passing of her father.

     Her best days were any time she was able to spend with her family and having everyone gathered together to celebrate special events.  She loved all the special holidays especially Easter, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas and spending time with her family that she loved with everything within her.  Joan’s devotion to her faith and prayer was shown to each of her kids and grandkids.  Any time her family or close friends had an important situation taking place, she had a special prayer that she would write and recite to be a support system.

     Joan graduated from DuQuoin High School in 1951.  While at DHS she was an Indian Cheerleader, Cheer Captain and was also the DuQuoin Queen.  From that crowning, she was recruited by a modeling agency where she traveled to St. Louis, MO to participate in modeling opportunities.  Joan worked as a secretary at Blue Bell Factory in DuQuoin and enjoyed that job a lot.  She was an excellent typist and skilled in writing shorthand.  No matter what Joan did she glowed with a stunning smile and was such a positive inspiration to everyone she encountered.

     She babysat many kids over the years and thought of each of them as bonus kids and grandkids (Grandma Doanie) that she was blessed with over the years.  Her loving nature made her a perfect caregiver and she still spoke affectionately of them all.  Joan and Ed enjoyed taking car rides to go shopping,  and spending time together and singing hymns.  Ed always took the scenic route, especially through parks, and Joan loved listening to him sing.  Over the years they had many fur baby cats and dogs that they enjoyed spending time with.  Those fur babies provided many years of love and companionship.  Her most recent cat Buddy White will miss her a lot.

     A visitation will be held from 3 until 5 p.m. Wednesday, December 28, 2022, at Frank & Bright Funeral Home in Flora.  A graveside ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. Thursday, December 29 at McElvain Cemetery, DuQuoin, where interment will follow.  Memorial donations may be given to Fur a Good Paws in honor of their love of cats, to Clay County Cancer Crusaders or to any charity of the donor’s choice.  To share a condolence or memory, visit: www.frankandbright.com