Joan Frances Hennecke Grundner, age 84 of Garland, Texas, received her angel tiara on Tuesday, December 6, 2022. Joan was born on May 20, 1938 Detroit, Michigan where she attended grade school through high school. She was a high school cheerleader for the Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic School,and she carried that same enthusiasm and sociable personality throughout her life.
After high school, she worked for Wayne Oakland Bank where she met her children’s father, Kenneth Grundner (1937-2004) They were married over 25 years and later divorced, but they remained friends. Joan was quite artistic and in her early married years worked as a commercial artist and even designed the Bissell logo still used today.
The family moved to Texas in 1977, and Joan began her 20+ year career with Ford Motor Company where she made many lifelong friends. After retirement, she joined the Red Hat Society, commonly known as the Red Hatters, and just fell in love with the wonderful women with whom she was privileged to associate. They became some of her dearest friends, friends whose main goal it seemed was to wear red hats to lunch and roll on the floor laughing.
Joan will be remembered as the beauty queen with her tiara. She’s surely the one angel in heaven with a tiara rather than wings because on earth she was afraid to fly. Friends and family will never forget her contagious laughter, her sense of style, and her signature red lipstick. She was most proud of her BSN of Nursing Son Todd and daughter in law Robin, who they most lovingly took care of her for the last 18 months of her life. Most of all, she will be remembered by her children as a loving mother who will be forever missed until they meet again.
She is survived by her two children, Nancy Lewis and husband, Ira, of Allen, Texas and Todd Grundner and wife, Robin, of Allen, Texas; her sister, Suzanne Sterling of Rochester Hills, Michigan, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Joan was preceded in death by her father, Frances Jon Hennecke, her mother, Irene Hennecke, her grandmother, Mathilda Cullen, and her beloved poodle, Alfie, her companion for 16 years.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 600 South Jupiter Road, Richardson, Texas 75081.