Joan K Masten

Joan was born September 17, 1939 to Clarence and Clara Gluth in Vancouver, Washington. The family later moved to Whatcom County where Joan attended and graduated from Meridian High School.

Two early interests where beauty and fashion as a young girl she collected perfume bottles. After high school she pursued a career in cosmetology and worked at Wahl’s and the Bon Marche. Joan was dedicated to her work, made many friends and enjoyed sharing numerous good stories she had collected over the years.

In the late 1970’s Joan decided to follow another area of work interest she had which was court administration. Joan took pride and enjoyed serving the court systems as a court administrator for Everson, Ferndale and Blaine.  She ended her work career as a bailiff for Whatcom County Superior Court.

In 1998 she and her husband George decided to leave Whatcom County and moved to eastern Washington.  She and George resided in Chewelah, Washington and had a quaint home on the golf course.

Joan will always be remembered for her many wonderful qualities she possessed.  Her sense of humor, the love she had for her husband, children, grandchildren, family and friends. Mom always supported and encouraged her children in our different life pursuits.  There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t try to do to help us and regardless what time of day or night she was always available for us. She was always up for a spontaneous adventure one that lead us to taking a drive which we found our way to Montana for the night.

Joan will always be remembered for her love of animals. There wasn’t a stray cat ever turned away from our home. Each and everyone found their way to the vet for a check up and yearly shots and became a part of our family. If Joan discovered a dog or cat in need of food she would buy pet food and deliver it to their owner.

Her affection of animals didn’t just stop with domesticated pets if raccoons or possums found the deck of their home in Everson where also fed. In eastern Washington she enjoyed buying apples to feed deer passing through their yard. I once questioned my mom about how good of an idea this was her response they need to eat too. While growing up my mom had a variety of bird feeders and enjoyed watching the different birds of the seasons. The only thing she would not tolerate is being woken up during the night by someone’s dog barking in the neighborhood especially if she was awoken during the work week. This just frustrated and would get her wound up.

She also enjoyed having different flowerbeds and a variety of plants and having a small garden. In Everson she had beautiful flowering cherry trees, a flowering star magnolia tree, rhododendrons, large flower beds at the end of the driveway to greet you. She enjoyed growing beans, carrots, and beets in her garden. She also had a rather large rhubarb plant which my father once mowed over, she was not amused.  

Her home in Chewelah enjoyed having a variety of different lavender planets, star orchids, pansy’s and growing rhubarb and zucchini.

In July she was diagnosed with cancer and sadly it was already stage four. She accepted her diagnoses with beauty and grace. Joan and passed away peacefully in her sleep the early evening of December 19, 2010 both her husband George and daughter Micki Jo were with her.

She is survived by her loving husband of 44 years George; daughter Krisandra Masten; daughter Micki Jo and husband Michael Palmer; granddaughter Marlee Palmer; son Eugene Mc Murry; stepson Jeffrey Burton and wife Kathy; grandchildren Devon, Jessica and Aaron Burton; sister Virginia and husband Dan Amskold; niece Lynda Oldow and husband John Oldow; niece Lori Radtke and husband Frank; nephew Brian Coffman and wife Marianne; nephew Dean Coffman; nephew Brian Coffman; and numerous other relatives and friends.

Born: Sep 17, 1939 in Vancouver, Washington

Died: Dec 19, 2010 in Seattle, Washington

Obituary

On Sunday, December 19th Joan K. Masten died peacefully after a four month battle with cancer. Joan was born on September 17, 1939 to Clarence and Clara Guth in Vancouver, Washington. The family moved to Whatcom County and Joan graduated from Meridian High School. Joan was a dedicated employee and made many friends while working for The Bon Marche and Wahl's in their hair salons. Later, she enjoyed her work as a court administrator serving the court systems for Everson, Ferndale, and Blaine. She ended her career working as a bailiff for Whatcom Superior Court. Joan will always be remembered for her love of animals and the love she showed her family. She is survived by her loving husband of forty-four years, George, her sister Virginia (Dan) of Canada, daughters Krisandra Masten and Micki-Jo Palmer (Michael), son Eugene McMurray, stepson Jeff Masten (Kathy), and several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be help for Joan at 11:00 am on Thursday, December 30th at Green Acres Memorial Park, Ferndale, WA. In lieu of flowers please send a donation to the Whatcom County Humane Society.



A memorial service will be help for Joan at 11:00 am on Thursday, December 30th at Green Acres Memorial Park, Ferndale, WA. In lieu of flowers please send a donation to the Whatcom County Humane Society.