Joan Donaldson passed away peacefully in her sleep on February 10. She was born in Boston, MA on November 9,1931 and grew up with her parents William & Ada Slattery and her brother Bill Jr. in Jamaica Plain, MA. She was an honor student and competitive junior golfer in Massachusetts. Joan graduated from both Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart and from Manhattanville College at the top of her class and had plans to enter Law School when she met the love of her life, Alan Donaldson. They married in 1953 and started their life together in Prairie Village, Ks. During their years there, the couple was blessed with daughters, twins Mary Joan and Kathleen, as well as Patricia. Sons Robert and Andrew completed Joan’s beloved family just a few years later. Joan and her family eventually settled on the Jersey Shore where she loved the beach and the friends made over 25 years there.
Joan enjoyed a brief successful career as a real estate agent. She found her true professional calling after achieving a master’s in social work from Georgia State University. When Alan retired, the couple moved to Amelia Island, FL where Joan practiced her new vocation with great success and impact on countless of her community members. She brought her talents to the Physicians Recovery Network, where she counseled medical doctors in their recovery from addiction.
Joan served on the board of the Amelia Plantation Chapel, becoming one of the driving forces in that congregation by founding the chapel nurse program and serving on the Pastor Search Committee. She was also active in meaningful pastoral care at Baptist Medical Center Nassau, providing invaluable grief counseling and comfort to families and patients with her friend Jim Tippins. Joan remained active in the Chapel until the end of her life, taking part in regular bible study groups that deepened her strong faith.
Joan pursued a lifelong love of golf on Amelia Island, providing her an outlet for competition and sportsmanship she learned as a child from her loving father. Joan was a consistent friend of Bill W. for more than 40 years. The guidance and support she provided her fellow friends remained a constant source of pride and fulfillment her entire life.
Joan is survived and will be missed by her loving husband Alan, her five devoted children and their three spouses, her six beloved grandchildren, four thriving great-grandchildren and a grateful Amelia Island community.
A Memorial Service will be held at Amelia Plantation Chapel on Friday, February 18, 2022 at 11:00 AM. Rather than flowers the family would be grateful for donations made in her memory to the Amelia Plantation Chapel.