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Joan Hoover Wilson


Joan Hoover Wilson, 90, a longtime resident of Tiburon and beloved Reed School teacher, earned her angel wings on January 12, 2023, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.


Born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 4, 1932, to Vina May (Marks) Hoover and Jessie Leroy Hoover, Joan spent her formative years working for her family’s business, the Hoover Boat Livery, where she helped to clean and maintain their fleet of fishing boats for rent. She earned her bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1954, where she met the love of her life, James Gerald Wilson. They wed in 1954 and initially settled in Norfolk, Virginia, then in Long Beach, California, for a few years while Jim completed his service for the U.S. Navy and Joan taught first grade.


In 1958, they relocated to Marin County, where they raised their four children, first in Terra Linda, then in Tiburon beginning in 1968, where Jim designed and built their dream home. Joan was active in the Reed Union School District for more than 25 years as a volunteer, a teacher’s aide and as a reading specialist. She was a past president of the Del Mar Homeowners Association, an avid reader, a seamstress, loved to cook, never missed a party, refinished dozens of pieces of furniture and hit every garage sale in the land.


Joan is preceded in death by her beloved husband Jim, her sisters Mickey Colombatto and Carolyn Rubin, her brother Roy Hoover Jr. and her parents, Vina and Jessie. She is survived by her son Greg (Sharon) Wilson, daughters Suzie (Marc) Cawdrey, Nancy Wilson and Janet Wilson and grandchildren Kevin, Tim and Chris Wilson, Danny, Ryan and Kelsey Cawdrey, Nicole, Hayley and Courtney Maeda and Alex Wilson.


A celebration of life will be held for Joan on Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 240 Tiburon Blvd in Tiburon. A reception will immediately follow the service. Donations in memory of Joan Hoover Wilson may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601, or www.alz.org.




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