Joan Elizabeth Price

Joan Elizabeth Price, age 67, of Grants Pass, Oregon passed away peacefully at her home on Sunday, April 27, 2014.

Joan was born on March 24, 1947 in Vanport, Oregon to Arline and Willard “Pat” Patterson. In addition to her mother, she is survived by her husband and soul mate, Wayne Price; her children (Rene and Lee Gosson) and stepson (Ian Ruskey); her daughters-in-law (Simonne Roy and Sharon Gosson); her three granddaughters (Claire and Eva Gosson, and Lucie Joan Gosson-Roy); and her six sisters and brothers (Linda Sonnenberg, David, Steven, Jeffrey and Douglas Patterson, and Lora Kinder). She was also a loving niece, aunt, cousin, sister-in-law, and friend to many who will miss her.

Upon graduation from Portland’s Roosevelt High School in 1965, she achieved her nursing degree at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. After years of nursing as a Licensed Practical Nurse (including the Memorial Hospital, Diamond Fruit, and Family Practice in the Hood River Valley), Joan returned to school when her children reached college age. She received her Registered Nurse degree from Clark College in 1993 and was admitted into the highly competitive University of Washington School of Medicine’s MEDEX Program where she trained to become a Physician Assistant.

She moved to Grants Pass in 1996 to work for Grants Pass Orthopedic Surgeons (which changed names to Green Tree Orthopedics in 2002). As a Physician Assistant, Joan balanced acute medical insights and top-notch clinical skills with approachability and compassion as a care provider.

Although breast cancer claimed her life this spring, Joan courageously “won the battle” with her disease in living every day since her diagnosis in Fall 2009 as if it were her last, in seizing every opportunity to spend time with her family, and in appreciating the beauty of the natural world. Her private conversations with loved ones always reminded us to live in the moment.

She will be remembered for her love of nature and the outdoors (hiking and kayaking), music (a musician herself, playing piano, fiddle, mandolin, and ukulele), yoga and meditation, genealogy, travel (Australia, France, Quebec, Martinique, Hawaii), foreign films and live theatre, not to mention her amazing margarita recipes, kitchen gadgets, and skills as both hostess and chef.

She will especially be remembered for her gift of endless grandchild entertainment: from storytelling to relaxation techniques, spatula-licking brownie making to Pata Pata dance lessons, playing dress-up to make-believe camping, movie watching, popcorn making, and outdoor adventures ... all of which landed her the reputation of being “Better than Disneyland.”

A first of many celebrations of Joan’s life will be held Monday, May 5 at 11 a.m. at Hull and Hull Funeral Home (612 NW “A” Street, Grants Pass, OR 97526). Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.