Obituary
In Loving Memory of Joan Forrester Espenship
Joan Forrester Espenship, the cherished daughter of Clive Benton Forrester and Edith Mae Atack Forrester, passed away peacefully on May 27, 2023.
Joan’s remarkable journey into this world began in Miami on February 16, 1940. She graduated from Coral Gables High School and then attended college at Florida State University. For 83 amazing years, Joan cut a wide swath through life, making a difference and bringing value into people’s lives. Her energy and passion revolved around kids, travel, and family.
Joan’s passion for children began as an elementary school teacher, a career that spanned 40 years of teaching and mentoring young lives, culminating in acquiring a master’s in education and ultimately retiring as a guidance counselor.
Joan lived to travel! To say she left behind a legacy of adventure is a vast understatement. She definitely inherited her parents’ enthusiasm for planning, preparing, and documenting her travels worldwide! From that, we are blessed to have Joan’s vast collection of pictures, albums, videos, and memorabilia that she meticulously documented from her globetrotting wanderlust.
By far, Joan’s true love was her family. She was a caring and doting older sister to her brother Gary and sister Ginger. Joan did a masterful job as a single parent, raising her two boys: Johnny, who sadly predeceased her, and her youngest son Jeffrey.
Joan’s boys brought her five grandchildren: Joellen, Michael, Zachary, Alan, and Kai. Each summer, Joan held court at her home known as “Camp Grandma.” Now as young adults, her grandchildren share close bonds and many fond memories simply because Grandma Joan took the time to help create them.
One of the family’s fondest memories of Joan is her legendary fondness for all things sweet. She would add sugar to just about anything, even to a glass of wine if she felt it needed it. Her freezer was perpetually stocked with a wide variety of delectable ice creams, and her kitchen cabinets stayed stocked with all the toppings – nuts, chocolates, caramels, drizzles, and sprinkles.
Joan Forrester Espenship will be remembered as a loving, caring, kind, and remarkable woman who made a difference in all things she touched. She has left an indelible mark on our world, making it a better place for all.
May her soul find eternal peace. May her memory continue to inspire us to embrace life’s adventures with love and enthusiasm. May she find solace and happiness as she reunites with her beloved son Johnny, as well as with her Mom and Dad in the realms beyond.
Although we’ve known each other since the second grade, the last nearly seven years with you has been a marvelous experience, a true love story. You truly were the most caring, giving and loving person.
I learned very quickly about our joint love to travel…and as a result, we travelled the world with wonderful trips to the Caribbean, Alaska, Israel, Egypt, Greece, Peru (Machu Picchu), Ecuador (Galapagos), Panama Canal and nearly a dozen European countries, including two Atlantic cruise ship crossings. Our last trip, this past October, was a delightful and relaxing 11-day cruise of the Pacific Northwest. It was great!
So, my love, thank you for all of our magnificent times together—both the wonderful days of travel and just being with you and even the not so good days of the Covid isolation and your recent illness. I wouldn’t trade them for the world! I have loved you tremendously over the years we’ve been together and will forever. Rest in peace, my dear.
All my love, Tony