Joan Edwards

Joan Joanie Carol Edwards

1945 - 2022

Joan Joanie Carol Edwards peacefully passed away to be with the Lord on September 11, 2022, surrounded by her devoted family, Marcy Jimenez, Lorene Yoshihara, and Leah Kawahara.

Joan was born on February 4, 1945, in Fremont, Nebraska. Her parents, Warren and Selma Edwards, adopted Joan as a baby, along with her older adopted brother, James. She attended the University of Nebraska in Omaha and graduated in 1967. Joan began her teaching career in Carter Lake, Iowa for two years during which time she earned her Master's Degree in 1970 from University of Northern Colorado at Greeley.

In 1970, Joan attended a job faire in Colorado where she met Vernon Graham. Mr. Graham was interviewing physical education teachers to join the staff at Santa Maria High School and to begin the women's sports program coaching basketball and softball. After the interview Mr. Graham asked Joan if she would like to live in California. It was the beginning of her career at Santa Maria High School where she recruited many young women into sports. It was her start in building a CIF Championship basketball team for the Saints in 1975.

In 1978 Allan Hancock College was beginning their women's sports program and offered Joan a position to teach and coach basketball, volleyball, and softball. Joan was a major impact on female athletes and the beginning of Hancock's women sports program.

In the 1980's Joan's mother, Selma, moved to California to live with her. She was a devoted daughter who included Selma in many things. Not only did Joan love coaching, she also loved playing sports with her friends and she enjoyed traveling. She and her friends, Lydia Marin Johnson, Janice Kennedy Mouw, and Helen Valdez Lovera traveled during the summers to Greece, Egypt, New York, and Hawaii.

After her coaching career at Hancock, she returned to Santa Maria High School in the 1990's and continued to coach basketball at all the levels, freshman, junior varsity, and varsity.

At the age of 57 she retired from teaching but continued to coach at the high school. She was thrilled to have Mackenzie, her god daughter, as her assistant coach. Joan also enjoyed being outdoors in her yard pulling weeds. She did this while lying on her side on the grass. She loved all of her dogs, Lucy and Linus being the last two. She enjoyed taking them to the dog park and visiting with other dog lovers. Her visits with Linus at the care facility always brightened her day.

After Selma passed, Joan began to search for her birth mother. In 2017 she found her mother, Arlene Hosick and her brother, Gary. She and Marcy traveled to Nebraska to meet Arlene, Gary and the Hosick family. It was a memorable trip and she loved her new family, and they embraced her with so much love.

Joan is survived by Marcy & John Jimenez and family, Lorene Yoshihara and family, Leah Kawahara and family, Gaylen & George Clark and family, Mackenzie Wilkins, god daughter, Arlene Edwards, sister-in-law, Gary Hosick, half-brother, Patty & Dan Dirgo, niece & husband, Douglas Edwards, nephew, Joani Peter, great niece and numerous cousins. She is preceded in death by parents Warren & Selma Edwards, brother James Edwards, birth mother Arlene Hosick, and half brother Randy Hosick.

A visitation/viewing will be held on September 27, 2022, from 4pm-7pm at Dudley Hoffman Mortuary. A church service will be held on September 28, 2022, at 10am also at Dudley Hoffman. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the American Heart Association, Alzheimer's Association, or Humane Society.

Visit www.dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com to leave a condolence for the family.