Joan Oste

Joan (Miller) Oste, 93, formerly of Fluvanna, NY and Orchard Grove Assisted Living, passed away on October 27, 2025 at Heritage Green Rehab and Skilled Nursing. Joan was born in Jamestown on August 18, 1932 to the late John W. and Doris E. Miller.
Joan was a 1950 graduate of the former Celoron High School. She went on to get her Bachelor's Degree and Teaching Certification from the New York State College for Teachers at Albany, NY in 1954 in Business Education and English. After college, she taught business for one year at Panama High School. Joan paused her career to raise her children and in 1963, she resumed teaching until her retirement in 1997. She was employed and enjoyed teaching at the former Jamestown Business College. Joan taught multiple business and English classes mainly in the Legal and Medical Secretarial fields and because of her teaching "Medical Terminology" she felt she had a superior knowledge of medicine.
In 1954, Joan went on a blind date with a man who claimed to be "Terry Cole". Very soon after, she learned his real name was Duane F. Oste. They were married on August 27, 1955 and enjoyed close to 50 years together until Duane's passing on April 30, 2005.
At one time, there wasn't a crossword puzzle, Jeopardy tournament or John Grisham novel that Joan didn't enjoy. She also enjoyed finding punctuation and grammatical errors in the newspaper. She proudly displayed these discoveries on her refrigerator for all to see. Joan also enjoyed the daily "Dennis the Menace" and "Marmaduke" cartoons and had an extensive collection taped in spiral notebooks.
Joan is survived by her two children, Randy (Marla) Oste of Bemus Point, and Amy Peterson of Lakewood. Also surviving are four grandchildren, Tory (Adam) Irgang of Jamestown, Micah (Katie) Peterson of North Canton, OH, Scott (Angie) Oste of Allentown, PA and Marc Oste of Vail, CO. She also enjoyed two great granddaughters, Anna and Leah Irgang and three great grandsons, Carter Peterson and Levi and Parker Oste. Additionally, Joan is survived by a brother, John W. Miller of West Ellicott, NY and a sister, Marcia (Schuyler) White of Busti, NY.
The family would like to thank the staff at both Orchard Grove Assisted Living and Heritage Green Skilled Nursing for all their wonderful care and patience. At Joan's request, there will only be a private graveside service for family members at a later date. Donations in her memory can be made to the Chautauqua County Humane Society, 2825 Strunk Road, Jamestown, NY 14701.