Joanne P. Kinder

Joanne P. Kinder, beloved Mom, Grandma, and longtime Tamaqua Area High School Educator passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 22, 2023, at Providence Place in Pottsville, where she resided. Joanne was 83 years of age.

Born in the former Locust Mountain Hospital, Shenandoah, on September 9, 1939, Joanne was the daughter of the late Joseph J. and Rosemary (Capone) Pangonis. She was predeceased by her husband of 39 years, Raymond C. Kinder, on May 9, 2008.

Joanne is survived by her son, Raymond J. Kinder, and his wife Jennifer of Tamaqua; daughters Elizabeth Anne Kinder of Ridgewood, NJ; Amy J. Leonard, and her husband Jerry of Ashland; Heather J. Kinder of Danville; and six grandchildren whom she adored, Raymond E. and Grace Kinder, Marcus and Olivia Johnson, and Caden and Alina Leonard. Joanne is also survived by an extended adopted family of staff and residents at Providence Place who loved and cared for her for almost six years.

A graduate of Mahanoy City High School, Joanne matriculated to Penn State University, earning her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature, with a certification to teach English, Reading, Drama, and Social Studies, and her Master’s Degree in Theater Arts. She began her more than 30-year teaching career at Tamaqua Area High School where her Senior Term Paper class, while dreaded, was integral in providing many talented Tamaqua students a solid foundation for college. After a short respite from teaching to raise her children, she returned to teaching for several years at Blue Mountain High School before coming back to Tamaqua. In addition to teaching, she also held positions as Senior Class Advisor, Drama Advisor, English Department Chair, and Yearbook Advisor, and also organized the Renaissance Faire. She was a lover of education and learning and took every opportunity to expand her knowledge.

Joanne was a faithful Catholic and a member of the former St. Jerome’s parish. She continued to attend services in the Providence Place community. She was very service-minded and was a long-time board member of the Tamaqua Area Public Library, and a member and officer of the Tamaqua Women’s and Lionettes Clubs. Joanne was also a member of the Tamaqua Bicentennial and Sesquicentennial Committees where she used her theater skills to help produce the associated celebratory shows.

Joanne enjoyed many hobbies including playing cards, reading, needlecraft, scrapbooking, playing nickel bingo, solving puzzles of all kinds, spending time with her grandchildren, and watching movies. She was a trivia buff and human encyclopedia and was well-known for her vast knowledge of virtually every subject on earth. Joanne loved to reminisce and tell stories to her children, grandchildren, students, and basically anyone! She loved to travel and looked forward to her yearly family beach trips along the East Coast, and she also traveled with her husband and other family members to Bermuda, the Bahamas, Alaska, Hawaii, and New Orleans. A doting Mother and Grandmother, Joanne was a constant presence at her children’s and grandchildren’s athletic and extracurricular activities. She was an avid New York Yankees and Penn State fan. Most of all, her favorite thing in the world was hosting family dinners and seeing her children and grandchildren gathered together, so much so that she continued hosting these gatherings at local restaurants when she was no longer able to cook her fabulous feasts herself.

Joanne will be dearly missed by her family and the countless people whose lives she touched. As she once concluded one of her favorite speeches, “Ave et Vale; Hail and Farewell.”

Funeral Arrangements entrusted to the E. Franklin Griffiths Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. of 655 East Broad Street Tamaqua, Pennsylvania 18252. (570) 668-2550

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday July 26, 2023 at 11 o'clock A.M. from St. John XXIII R.C.C., located at 307 Pine Street Tamaqua, Pennsylvania 18252.

Friends may call on Tuesday evening July 25, 2023 at the funeral home from 6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M., and also on the Wednesday morning from 9:30 A.M. until 10:30 A.M in the Social Hall of the church..

Private Interment St. Jerome R.C.C. Cemetery Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.

In Lieu of Flowers, memorials in her name may be made to:
Tamaqua Public Library 30 South Railroad Street Tamaqua, Pennsylvania 18252
or
Tamaqua / Carbon American Cancer Society
33 West Ridge Street Lansford Pennsylvania 18232

Online condolences or a fond memory of Joanne can be to the family at www.griffithsfuneralhomes.com