Joan Elizabeth Seeberger

Joan Elizabeth Burke Seeberger was born in 1939 and grew up in Oakland, CA, the oldest of 6 children. She lived a life devoted to education and service of those in need, especially children and adults with disabilities. Joan’s favorite activities in her retirement years were shopping at Nordstrom, getting decaf coffee at Starbucks, going to the Seattle opera and theater shows, spending time with her 4 grandchildren, attending Catholic mass, watching historical dramas, and traveling.

Joan attended Holy Names High School and always loved drama and spending time with friends. She moved to Seattle in 1959 to attend Seattle University where she graduated with a Bachelors in Education and met her late husband, Edward Seeberger. After college, the couple briefly lived in Washington DC where Ed worked as code breaker in the CIA and they both championed civil rights. They then moved in Stanwood, WA where their two oldest children (Ed Jr. and Frank) were born and Joan worked teaching elementary school. The family of four spent a few years living in Yakima, WA to be close to Ed’s family, then moved to Bainbridge Island where their youngest daughter Teri was born.

Joan earned her Masters in Education at Central Washington University and a PhC in Education at the University of Washington, and then the family moved to Olympia, WA for 20 years where Joan worked as Inservice Coordinator for Special Education for the Educational Service District and Ed was the staff director of the Washington State Senate. Joan and Ed took early retirement in 2002 and spent happy years traveling. They especially enjoyed spending time at their condo in North Vancouver, BC, and then Kona, HI, and then Palm Desert, CA. They moved to Portland, OR in 2016 to be closer to their daughter and two youngest grandchildren. After 57 years of marriage, Ed passed away in 2021, and Joan moved with her daughter in 2022 back to Seattle.

Joan spent a joyful and healthy Christmas celebrating with her family, and then passed away suddenly from pneumonia on December 30, 2022. She will be greatly missed by her three children and four grandchildren. A small family memorial will be held on January 14, 2023, followed by a larger celebration of life on March 11, 2023.