Joan Grogan Ostman

Joan was born January 12, 1934, in Brooklyn, NY, the eldest of the 4 children of John and Helen (Nan) Grogan. She was raised in a multi-generational home that included her maternal great-grandmother and grandparents, her parents, her two sisters and brother.

When Joan was 15, she accompanied her sister Ruth and a friend to the local corner soda shop to check out the cute boys working behind the counter. One of the cute boys was Richard Olavi Ostman, and they became the loves of each other’s lives from that day.

Joan graduated from St. Joseph's Commercial High School in June 1953. She and Richard officially announced their engagement in November 1953, and they were married in October of 1954.

They took the first of their many beloved long-haired dachshunds, Lord Hansel of Hilltop (Hansie), on their honeymoon trip to see the fall color in upstate New York. Fall remained Joan’s favorite season, and she loved to get her “fall fix,” traveling northeast as much as possible.

While she was still in high school, Joan took a work-study position with stockbrokers De Coppet & Doremus in New York City and stayed with them until 1960, shortly before the birth of her second child, when she opted to become a full-time stay-at-home mom. This was also when she and Richard bought their first home together in Brooklyn, NY.

In 1965, now with four small children in tow as well as several family pets, Joan and Richard sold the Brooklyn house and moved to Brevard County, Florida, first to Cocoa Beach and later to Rockledge where they spent most of the rest of their lives. The last two of their six children were born in Florida.

With six kids in the Brevard County school system, becoming very involved in the Parent-Teachers Organization to help oversee their education was a natural step for Joan. From 1975 both Joan and Richard led the PTO fight to try to keep Rockledge Elementary open, finally conceding in the summer of 1977 after the rest of the parents had given up.

Joan was especially proud of when, in 1976, she led the fundraising efforts to ensure that all 300 Rockledge Elementary students, kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as the entire teaching faculty, administrators, and even the cafeteria workers for the school were able to attend the Third Century America Science and Technology Exposition at Kennedy Space Center, for the Bicentennial.

In 1982, Joan went back to working outside the family business, becoming the Executive Assistant for the University of Florida (UCF) College of Engineering’s Cocoa Campus.

During this time, she served as Secretary and later President of the Brevard chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals. She spent 20 years with UCF, retiring in 2002 to care for her mother.

In addition to raising six kids, helping run the family business, leading the PTO, and working at UCF, Joan enjoyed reading mysteries, flower arranging, cake decorating for birthdays and weddings, and fancy food catering for all the family celebrations – and there were a lot of them!

No one could throw a fun and inventive kids birthday party like Joan – from carved Barbie doll dress cakes to ‘grown-up’ finger food luncheons with make-your-own flowered straw hats. And for the adults there were such memorable creations as watermelon Viking Ships and sparkling fruit Christmas trees.

Joan also traveled extensively all over the US, including favorite destinations Hawaii, New Orleans and Vermont; and spent time exploring Canada, Germany, Finland, Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Joan was up for all types of travel – planes, trains, and automobiles (and ships), anything as long as she was going somewhere new and different.

She especially loved sharing trips with her adult children, when she had become more friend than ‘mom,’ fearlessly exploring dark grottos and climbing tall lighthouses, trying exotic foreign foods, sitting for loads of photos and building very strong memories for us all to hold onto.

Joan was absolutely devoted to her family, both in the traditional sense and to all her ‘adopted’ kids and grandkids, as well as to her many, many friends. Her interest in the lives around her knew no bounds. Her unwavering compassion and thoughtfulness for everyone she met remained a constant until her passing, bringing solace to all those who remain.

She will be sorely missed by her son: Richard Jr.; and her daughters: Denise Copeland, Ingrid Emerson, Lilya McAtee, and Karen Proctor. Additionally, by daughter-in-law Cheryl and sons-in-law Philip Copeland, Dale Emerson, and Dean Proctor; grandsons Derek McAtee (Madeline), Mason Proctor and Taylor Proctor; granddaughters Alexandra Allen (Chris), Kaitlin Johnson (Arthur), Tammy Gurski (Jake), and Ruth Emerson; great-granddaughters Oliva McAtee and Debbie Emerson; brother Thomas Grogan and sister Helen LaCentra; brother-in-law Ronald Ostman; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Joan was predeceased by her husband, Richard Olavi Ostman Sr., her son, Craig Andrew Ostman, her father, John Martin Thomas Grogan, her mother, Helen Irene (Nan) Moroney Grogan, and her sister, Ruth Helen (Fufe) Grogan Olsen.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Joan’s name to Low Rider Dachshund Rescue of Florida (https://www.lowriderrescue.com/), the SPCA of Brevard (https://www.spcabrevard.com/), or to your favorite local animal rescue/shelter.