Joann Sparks was born on July 2, 1927 and raised in Sabina, Ohio. She was a long-time resident of Columbus, Ohio until 2007 when she moved to State College, Pennsylvania. She passed peacefully on February 17, 2017. She is survived by her brothers, Donald (Margaret) Sparks and Dwight Sparks; five nieces, Gail (Michel) Laurent, Diane Sparks, Janet (Oliver) Read, Brenda (David) Scholl, and Susan (David) Beyerle; grand nieces and nephews Renee (Joshua) Crim and daughter Elanor, Stephanie Scholl, Midd Read, Ben Read, Don Owen, Bridgette (Rob) Langdon, Laura Beyerle, and Matthew Beyerle. She is predeceased by her sister-in-law, Thelma Sparks, and grandnephew Eric Laurent.
Joann graduated from The Ohio State University in 1949 with a degree in Biological Sciences. She loved to travel and one of her first jobs took her to Fort Dodge, Iowa, where she made numerous lifelong friends. Most of her career was spent in Columbus, where she worked for the OSU's College of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Department of Medicine, and clinical chemistry labs. She also worked for a period of time at Grant Medical Center. Her "final" retirement was in 2007. Joann was active in the DAR and League of Ohio Women Voters. With the League, in the 1960s she traveled to the Soviet Union and central Europe. She took her nieces abroad during high-school. Joann had her hand in many varied and wide interests. Some of these included library volunteering, genealogy, stock market technical analysis and teaching all about sharing with those in need. Aunt Jo knew how to throw a great birthday party.
Joann's faith was always strong. She was active in several protestant churches over the years and valued welcoming newcomers above nearly all else. She wrote down their names to try to remember them for the next week or month when they might return.
A memorial service will be on March 11, 2017 at Foxdale Village, State College, Pennsylvania with a service at 2 pm followed by a reception.
Memorial contributions are suggested to: Food Bank of State College Area https://www.scfoodbank.org/ ; Charity Newsies http://charitynewsies.org/ ; CVIM (Centre Volunteers in Medicine) http://www.cvim.net/.