Joan Gladwell

Joan was born on 9th of November 1933 to parents Len and May Melling. During the second world war, she was never evacuated as many children were, but she did have memories of going to the air raid shelters with her mum and dad. Despite entering the world at such a difficult time, Joan had a very happy and loving childhood, remembering it fondly even in her final months. She was an only child and was often bought big bags of chocolate which she refused to share. A habit she never grew out of.

Joan grew up on South Street in Longsight. It was here, through her neighbours, that she met her first husband Bill, a softly spoken Irishman who was staying at his brother Tom’s house. In 1956, Joan married Bill and became Joan Cunnane. They moved to Barlow Road in Levenshulme and went on to have four children together, Theresa in 1957, Sean in 1958, Kath in 1960 and Mary in 1964.

Joan was a big sports fan, and her kids have fond memories of her taking them to watch Manchester United away games all over the country in her yellow ford escort. The same car she would go on to teach them to drive in. Once her youngest daughter, Mary, was in school, Joan started working as a punch card operator and typist at The University of Manchester. It was here that she met her second husband, Ian. They married in 1979 and she became Joan Gladwell. They lived in Burnage for a few years, before going on to settle in Bolton.

In 1986 an unmissable job opportunity for Ian at SMU saw them make the move across the pond to Dallas, Texas, where Joan also started a secretarial position at UTD. Upon hearing the news of Ian’s new role, Joan’s first question was’ will there be any palm trees?’ Despite that not really being the case, Joan took to the American lifestyle and relished soaking up the Texas sun. She’d always enjoyed the sun, but this was when she took her sunbathing to a new level! Despite the heat, Joan never got rid of her sparkly jumpers, something she wore every time she came back to the UK. When it came to jumpers or jewellery, if it was glittery, sparkly or Christmassy, Joan would love it.

Despite the distance, Joan and Ian would always make the trip back to England for Christmas, a time the whole family would look forward to. In fact, it didn’t feel like Christmas until Joan and Ian arrived. They enjoyed spending time together and visiting old friends. Plus Joan even managed to catch up with a year’s worth of Coronation Street storylines while she was there!

By 1994, Joan and Ian were naturalised American citizens, and in 1999, her son Sean and his family also moved to Texas. Joan loved nothing more than having her family come to visit, a family that grew significantly over the years. She was mother-in-law to Joe, Geoff, Damian and Heather, and became Gran to Steven, Selina, Suzanne, Warren, Ryan, Sarah, Holly, Andrew, Stephen and Callum, and Great Gran to Lily-Mae, Isla-Jane, Hugh, Annabelle, Louis and Rosalie-Joan. The grandkids all loved their trips to America to visit Gran and Ian. They have fond memories of going on incredible trips, driving around in ‘gran’s van’ and being taken on a daily visit to iHop. They are forever grateful for the experiences Joan and Ian gave them.

Her new hometown saw Joan discover new sports, and she soon became a big fan of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas cowboys. She would often be found sitting in her favourite recliner, which no one else should ever sit in, watching sports, jeopardy or, much to Ian’s dismay, one of her soap operas. More often than not she’d also be snacking on some chocolate or cheesecake. Sometimes, she wouldn’t even bother to defrost the frozen cheesecake, she loved it that much. But frozen or thawed, it was always accompanied with an endless supply of decaf coffee. In the late 90’s however, Joan swapped her sweet treats for yoga and zumba at the YMCA, and the atkins diet. Her health improved and she was known to use a skipping rope, even at the age of 75. Joan loved taking her visiting family out to eat, in fact many of her grandchildren don’t remember her dining table ever seeing a meal. But after she started the atkin’s diet, her choice of food was always meat and zero carbs, and if you weren’t ready to leave the house at 5.30 sharp there’d be trouble!

Aside from sports and exercising, Joan’s other passions included listening to music, especially the beach boys, and reading. She and Ian had bookshelves full of literature, with Joan’s Danielle Steel romance novel’s sitting alongside Ian’s historical non-fiction books. She was also a fan of artist Thomas Kinkade, and was given a picture of his as a gift from UTD when she retired. It took pride of place in the living room, above her favourite chair.

Joan and Ian were already well travelled, but their retirements gave them further opportunity to go on nice vacations. Joan particularly liked Hawaii and Florida, perhaps because she was finally surrounded by palm trees. She filled her days with ‘zumba gold’ which she referred to as ‘zumba old’, visiting church and watching her beloved sports.

In 2021, Joan lost her husband and best friend, Ian and despite having some more happy memories to come, she always felt his absence. In her final years she swapped yoga and zumba for colouring books and sudoku, but one thing always remained, sunbathing! At the end of Joan’s life, lots of her family were fortunate enough to enjoy some special moments with her, being able to attend her 90th birthday or last Christmas and thanksgiving. She enjoyed speaking with family on the phone or on facetime, and always ended the conversation with a heartfelt ‘thank you for calling me’.

Joan’s family have lost their matriarch, and she will be greatly missed by them all. She was a kind, funny, caring, special lady who will never be forgotten. We take peace knowing she is at rest next to Ian, where she has always wanted to be.

Funeral services for Joan will be held on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at Metrocrest Funeral Home, 1810 N Perry Rd, Carrollton, Texas 75006. Following the funeral mass will be a committal service from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM at Hilltop Memorial Park, 1810 N Perry Rd, Carr, TX 75006.