Joan Larrivee

LARRIVEE, JOAN, 94, passed away at home surrounded by her loved ones on August 15, 2013.

Joan was born on October 2, 1918 in Louisville, KY. She was the beloved wife of Gil Larrivee, mother of Joy and Esdras, grandmother of Jackie and Morgan, great grandmother of Jamie and John.

JoJo as she was affectionately called by her children and grandchildren bore a love of epic proportion for her lifelong husband Gilbert. A love that spanned Gil's service overseas during the second world war, a love that encompassed the lives of their children and grandchildren, and a love such that she made him known to her great grandchildren (who never had the good fortune to know him personally due to his early passing) as the hero she knew him to be.

Her love for Gil was a lifelong testament to the sacrament of matrimony for all her family and those who knew her. Her love for the Old Kentucky Home closely followed. Even when her affliction with Alzheimer's reached its most advanced stages she brought comfort and joy to those around her who loved her by singing that tune with them.

Joan and her family want to acknowledge and thank some very special people who helped care for her when the Alzheimer's affliction rendered her incapable of caring for herself. Caregivers Patricia Bushey and Samantha Brown, who cared for her in what can only be described as a vocation, will be treasured in the hearts of her family in gratitude forever. Not only did they treat Joan with graciousness and compassion through her difficult times, they embraced the entire family and helped them to cope with and understand the symptoms and side effects. Truly there must be a special place in heaven for humans such as these two.

While Joan spent most of her summers, after Gil's passing in 1985, in Alaska with her children Joy and Ed, and grandchildren Jackie and Morgan, she could not be kept from spending her winters in the home she and Gil had made together in their younger years. Joan honored her love for Gil to the very end, and is surely reunited with him now in her passing.

A memorial service was conducted by close family friends Father Leo Walsh of St Benedict's Parish, and Father Luz Flores of Holy Spirit Retreat Center on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at Kehl's Legacy Funeral Chapel in Anchorage, AK.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Barnabas Church, 3042 Hikes Lane, on Friday, August 30, 2013 at 10 a.m. She will be interred and have her mortal remains rest beside those of the love of her life, Gil at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. No doubt her soul and his are reunited already for eternity. Ratterman and Sons Funeral Home, 3800 Bardstown Road, is entrusted with arrangements.

Online condolences may be left at www.Ratterman.com.