Joan Gillison Sinclair

1930 - 2022

Joan Gillison Sinclair passed away October 9, 2022 after a brief battle with cancer. The eldest of four siblings, she was born June 11, 1930 to Forrest and Elsa (Herget) Gillison in Powell, Wyoming, later moving to Portland, Oregon where she attended high school and even climbed Mt. Hood. She studied Literature in college, expanding her lifelong passion for reading. She married Eldridge Sinclair in 1955, living in Santa Monica and Millbrae until 1963 when Eldridge's career brought them to Riverside. They even lived in Hawaii for one wonderful year, often returning for visits. Joan could recite hundreds of poems from memory, including works of Rupert Brooke, Sara Teasdale, Shakespeare, and Walt Whitman. She was a librarian for the City of Riverside, conducting children's Story Times and helping reluctant teen readers find books they truly enjoyed. Her love of young children led her to teach nursery school at Temple Beth El in the 1970s. She had a flair for trivia, landing her a spot on the tv game show Split Second, where she won every day for a week, culminating in winning a new car. She loved yellow roses, oranges from the packing house, paper dolls, Del Taco green burritos, Harold Lloyd and Fred Astaire movies, long baths, and good chocolate. A fierce competitor in Scrabble and Rook, she was partial to the game The Minister's Cat, which she insisted the family play at most gatherings. She was patient, optimistic, elegant, and kind. She served in many leadership capacities at her church and will be deeply missed by family and friends. Preceded in death by her husband Eldridge and only son Wayne, she is survived by three daughters Nancy, Adelaide, and Annie Laurie, seven granddaughters and five great-grandchildren, to whom she was devoted. A funeral will be held Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 11:00 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 181 W. Blaine St., Riverside CA with interment to follow at Olivewood Cemetery.