Joan E. (Knutson) Gustavson died Dec. 4, 2013. She was born June 2, 1942, to Orrin and Bernice (Westlund) Knutson, in Minneapolis, Minn.
She graduated in 1960 from Edina-Morningside, High School, Edina, Minn. She attended the University of Arizona and the University of Stockholm, Sweden, where she spent her junior year. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in education and later earned an master’s degree in counseling at San Jose State University, San Jose, Calif.
Having lived in Minnesota all of her early years, she and two of her Tri Delta sorority sisters accepted teaching positions in Garden Grove, Calif. living at the beach and teaching there for four years.
She subsequently was drawn to northern California and spent the remainder of her teaching career in Monterey. There, in 1970, she met Michael Gustavson, who was in Monterey attending the Naval Postgraduate School. Joan remained in the Monterey/Carmel area, while Michael relocated in the early 1970s to Manchester, Wash.
In 1995 they reunited and were married July 21, 1996, making their home in Southworth.
Throughout her life, Joan was involved in a variety of activities, most recently with her past church Elim Lutheran of Port Orchard, P.E.O. (Chapter HD), CASA of Kitsap County and Bible Study Fellowship (BSF).
While she was a world traveler, Joan loved her frequent car trips throughout the west. She always marveled at the vast and varied qualities of each state. She was an “outdoor girl” who loved taking walks and hikes. Her early years in competitive swimming greatly added to her love of being in and near the water.
She is survived by her husband, Michael, sister Mary Senio (Paul) of Bellevue, their daughters Tara Freedman (Tom) and Laura Blair (David), sister-in-law, Karla Waterman (Gary) of Bainbridge Island, and their sons Andrew (Linda), Charles (Robin) and J.B. and six grand-nephews and Mike’s daughter Kaaren (T.J.) and their two children Lexi and Kaleb.
A celebration of her life will be at 2 p.m. Jan. 11, 2014, at Elim Lutheran Church, 5911 Hillcrest Dr., Port Orchard. A video of the memorial service will be available on-line at “www.rill.com”. Memorial contributions may be made to Elim Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 456, Manchester, WA, 98353.
