Joanne Sieger

1925 - 2021

Joanne Deane Sieger, 95, an artist and retired teacher of art and religion, passed away peacefully Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. She was born June 7, 1925, in Camden, N.J., the daughter of Joseph Lowrie Dean and Ruth Joan Collom, and grew up in Collingswood, Colwick, Nutley, Upper Montclair and Newark, N.J. She earned a scholarship to study art at Syracuse University, graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1947, and then worked in New York City as an artist. There she met and, in 1951, married John S. Sieger, of Pittsburgh. They lived in the Pittsburgh area, mostly in Allison Park, where she raised four sons and continued to work as an artist, exhibiting her work in Pittsburgh art festivals. After her marriage ended, she earned a master's degree in art history from the University of Pittsburgh, taught at Point Park College, and earned a Ph.D. in art history and theology from the University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. From 1980-1987, she taught at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. After her retirement, she moved to Charlottesville, Va., where she continued to pursue her interest in art and a new interest in genealogy, aided by the University of Virginia's Alderman Library. In 1994, she moved to Rogersville, Tenn., and continued her work in art and genealogy. She was preceded in death by her parents; and her brother, Joseph Lowrie Dean, of Staunton Va. She is survived by sons, John (and his wife, Eileen Foster Sieger), of Allison Park, Edward, of Arlington, Va., James, of the home in Rogersville, Tenn., and Christopher "Kip" (and his wife Barbara Webb Sieger), of Cedar Park Texas; by granddaughters, Abbey (and her husband Daniel Hook), Laura, and Heather; and great-grandchildren, Eliza and Wyatt Hook. A private burial took place in Rogersville. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.christiansells.com.