Joan W. Tolbert

Joan Wagner Tolbert, died at peace in her home in Shippensburg on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. She was 84. She lived her life always with a smile and with love. Born In Chambersburg on January 8, 1932, she was the only child of Joseph and Rhoda Wagner. She graduated from Hood College with a BS in Home Economics and married her high school sweetheart, the late Dr. Rodney N. Tolbert in 1954. Always patient and with a quiet strength, she created a loving home for her husband, her three children and later her grandchildren. She was an avid golfer, getting a hole in one in Caledonia, a course she walked for 75 years. She enjoyed gardening, sewing, reading, playing bridge with friends and watching football. She taught all of her granddaughters how to knit and liked nothing more than having her entire family for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. She loved walking on the beach or sitting on the porch of the cabin her father built in Caledonia with her family, friends, her German Shepherd and German Shorthair dogs. She was an active member of her church, most recently the Middle Spring Presbyterian Church. Joan is survived by her daughter, Dr. Cynthia R. Tolbert of Brentwood, NH, her son, Jeffrey W. Tolbert and wife Ellen of Lewes, DE and her son, Douglas R. Tolbert and wife Christine of Shippensburg. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Nicholas Tolbert of Brentwood, NH, Julia Slater of Waltham, MA, Hannah Tolbert of Lewes, DE, Molly Tolbert of Rochester, NY, Audrey Tolbert of Ann Arbor, MI and Alan Tolbert of Shippensburg. Professional services are entrusted by Dugan Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., Shippensburg. Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 8 at 2:00 PM at the Middle Spring Presbyterian Church, 135 Middle Spring Road, Shippensburg, PA 17257. Memorial Contributions may be made to Middle Spring Presbyterian Church, 135 Middle Spring Road, Shippensburg, PA 17257, Shippensburg Public Library, 73 W. King Street, Shippensburg, PA 17257 or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at www.LLS.org. She taught us what it is to live your life with love and with joy.