Joan Chalk

1940 - 2023

Joan Chalk
Joan Margaret (Dudley) Chalk, loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, and friend, passed away on Saturday, August 12, 2023, in Midland with her husband at her side.
Joan, affectionately called Joanie, as well as Mom and Granny, was born October 17, 1940, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the oldest of five children of Anna Katherine and Evered Curtis Dudley II.
Joan was a quiet, affectionate person with strong convictions who loved to laugh and to make life better for others. She was a dedicated student of Christian Science her whole life and gave many testimonies at church about times when she was healed of physical challenges through prayer.
Joan graduated from Central High School in Grand Rapids in 1958 and enrolled at Albion College, where she earned a bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate in 1962 and met her future husband, Dave Chalk. They married in Grand Rapids on June 15, 1963 and lived in Mount Pleasant for one year, in Midland for 34 years, and in Santa Rosa, California for the past 25 years while still coming back to the Midwest every year.
Joan taught at Parkdale Elementary School for three years before her first child was born. After all three of her children were in school, she became a paraprofessional at Adams Elementary School for eight years, excelling at helping students who were struggling to read. Later she served as a substitute teacher, a food purchaser for home economics teachers, an assistant in the Midland High School library, and a parapro for several years in second grade at Chestnut Hill Elementary, where she walked to work every day.
After Joan and Dave moved to Santa Rosa in 1998, they both dove into a new life, new adventures and an even wider circle of friends. She continued to be involved in education, volunteering in schools in the Santa Rosa area. She also became a very active volunteer at Redwood, an assisted living home for Christian Scientists, where she cooked meals among other duties. For the past several years, she enthusiastically played pickleball.
Joan was an accomplished cook and baker and had a number of special dishes that friends and family looked forward to eating at gatherings, such as cheese and pasta in a pot, rocky road fudge bars, and a family Christmas tradition – Norwegian Jule (pronounced yoola) bread.
Joan was a prolific letter writer. For many years at Christmastime, she composed rhyming letters about the highlights of the past year to send out to family and friends.
She enjoyed many diverse activities. She was an avid quilter and also knitted, crocheted, and soldered stained glass. She competed on softball and volleyball teams in Midland. She and Dave and their kids camped all around Michigan and the Midwest and on two long trips out West.
Above all else, Joan deeply loved her family. Two weeks before her passing, she was cooking meals and welcoming many extended family members during a weeklong stay at a cottage in Michigan, and the following week she and Dave organized a birthday party in Midland for their youngest grandchild.
Earlier this summer, Joan and Dave celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, also with many family members joining them for a surprise dinner.
Joan is survived by her husband Dave Chalk; children Steve Chalk, Linda Chalk, and Dan Chalk; grandchildren Aidan Checkett, Josie Checkett, Bram Checkett, Iris Chalk, and Meredith Chalk; brother Gord Dudley; sisters Phyl (John) Wahlberg and Sue (Dave) Pocklington; brother-in-law Bill Yates; sister-in-law Sylvia Currie; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. She was predeceased by her parents, sister Loie Yates, sisters-in-law Susan Dudley and Marlene Chalk, brothers-in-law Julian Chalk and Don Currie, and daughters-in-law Carol Chalk and Tamara Chalk.
A celebration of life for Joan will be held Saturday, August 26 at 11 a.m. at Ware-Smith-Woolever Funeral Home, 1200 West Wheeler Street in Midland. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of the celebration. Joan's family invites everyone to a lunch to be held afterwards in the basement of the funeral home.
A second celebration for Joan will be held in the Santa Rosa, California area at a later date and a place to be announced.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a contribution in Joan's honor are invited to consider Redwood Community for Christian Scientists, 18457 Madison Ave, Castro Valley, CA 94546, or the American Heart Association.