Joan Chalfont Picken

(Mary) Joan Chalfont Picken died on April 30, 2014. Joan was born in 1941 in San Antonio, Texas to the late Harold H. and Moneta L. Chalfont, and was predeceased by her husband, James Picken in 1996. As the daughter of a career Air Force officer, she lived in a number of locations including Texas, California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois and Germany. She graduated from the University of Texas in Austin, after which she worked with the Texas Highway Dept. as a programmer and with Control Data Corp. in Palo Alto, CA. While in California, Joan met James Picken and they were married in 1966 in San Antonio. She and her husband spent the next 20 years both in the US and overseas due to Jim's work. In 1994, Joan and Jim moved to Tucson where she volunteered for several years as a docent for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum until she was forced to leave due to illness. Joan died at the Sonora Healthcare Center at Splendido in Oro Valley, after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease. She received wonderful care there and she handled herself with grace until the end. Joan is to be buried with her husband in the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix. Joan is survived by her brother, Alan Chalfont and sister-in-law, Elizabeth (New Brunsfels, TX) as well as several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. She is also survived by her brother-in law, Robert Picken of NYC, who visited her almost every year since her husband's passing. Donations in Joan's memory can be made to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum or to Casa de la Luz Hospice who lovingly oversaw Joan's care over the last few months. Arrangements by DESERT ROSE HEATHER MORTUARY.