Joan “Joanie” D. (Oxton) Laughlin passed away unexpectedly on April 25, 2019 at the age of 70. She was surrounded by many of her family. She will always be remembered as a strong and courageous mother, wife, sister, aunt, grandmother and sister-in-law, a cancer survivor and a person of unbroken optimism.
Joanie is survived by her husband, Terry, her son Jacob, her daughter, Danielle, her grandson A.J. her siblings, Kay (Steve), Valerie, Dennis (Karen), and Chip (Georgia), her cousin, Marie Partney (David). She is also survived by her step-children, Laura (Monica), Carolyn (Rob), Pat, Nancy, 11 nieces and nephews, 7 grandnieces and grandnephews, and her beloved dog “Bitsy.”
She is preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Johanna Oxton (Haring), aunts, Sr. Mary Rosalie and Patricia Carelli (Bangle), her uncle, Fred Carelli, her brother David Oxton, and beloved cat “Kitty.”
Joanie was born in New York on March 14, 1949, spent the majority of her childhood in Santa Barbara, attending Dolores (now Notre Dame) Grade school, and graduated from Bishop Garcia Diego High School in 1967. She later attended and graduated from Long Beach State University.
In 1987, she met her beloved husband, Terry, on a “blind date,” and they married in a small ceremony in Ballard, CA in 1990.
Joanie’s indomitable spirit, generosity and love of family had an extraordinary impact on all who met her, and her absence will be felt by everyone whose lives she touched. She will be sorely missed.
A viewing will be conducted on Thursday, May 2, 2019 between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. at Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Home. A Funeral Mass will be on Friday, May 3, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows, with a burial to follow at Calvary Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Joanie’s memory to Angel Flight West (www.AngelFlightWest.org) or Wounded Warrior Project (www.WoundedWarriorProject.com), two very special organization to Joanie.
