Joanne Whallon

Dr. Joanne H. Whallon

East Lansing

Born on June 30, 1933, Joanne Holland Whallon was raised in Boston Massachusetts. She was the first of two daughters born to Catherine and John Holland. She attended Trinity College in Washington D.C. where she earned a B.S. in biology. After graduation, she continued her education with an M.S. in zoology from Yale University. At Yale, she met William Whallon, who was pursuing a Ph.D. in comparative literature. They were married on August 22, 1957. After receiving their degrees, William took a teaching position at Reed College, and they headed west to Portland Oregon. On August 20, 1961, Andrew arrived, the first of two sons. William received a new position at the Center for Hellenic Studies, and they moved to Washington D.C.

William then accepted a position at Michigan State University, and they moved to East Lansing. Their second son, Nicholas, was born on March 20, 1964. During William's sabbatical in 1969, the whole family went to Europe for 9 months. With Andrew and Nicholas in school, Joanne decided to continue her education, and earned a Ph.D. in botany from MSU in 1979. She worked for a few years at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, and for a year at the University of Bayreuth, where William was on sabbatical. Ultimately, Joanne received a position at MSU in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences where she would remain for the rest of her career. The confocal microscope, a new type of light microscope which is capable of much higher resolution than had previously been possible with light microscopes, was brought to MSU largely through her efforts. She became the Director of the Laser Scanning Microscope Facility and continued with her career of teaching, and research until she retired in 2005. In her spare time, she enjoyed photography, playing bridge, knitting, bowling, and playing the flute. Complications from Parkinson's disease took their toll, and she passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on 9/10/14. Preceding her in death is her son, Nicholas, who died in December 2002, and husband, William, who died in January 2006. She is survived by her sister Judith of Worcester Massachusetts, and her son Andrew of Long Beach, California.

The Funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday, 10:00 am at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church Chapel with Rev. Fr. Tucker Cordani as celebrant. Rite of committal will follow in Glendale Cemetery. Visitation will begin Saturday from 9:00 - 10:00 am.at church. The family is being served by the Palmer Bush & Jensen Family Funeral Homes Lansing Chapel. Condolences can be made to www.palmerbush.com.