Joan A. Washington

Joan Alrica Washington, age 73, passed away peacefully on July 14, 2024 at her home in Stone
Mountain, Georgia after a long and courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer. Born
January 6, 1951 to Vivian Gayle and Winston Washington in Westmoreland, Jamaica, West
Indies, Joan grew up in Mearnsville surrounded by her siblings and cousins and was known for
her brilliance at a young age. She attended Mannings High School in Sav-la-Mar until she was
old enough to attend Shortwood Teachers’ College, and worked as a teacher until she emigrated
to the United States in the 1970s.

Joan settled in Poughkeepsie, New York where she married a second time, had two children, and
obtained her associates degree in nursing from Dutchess Community College, eventually
becoming a registered nurse. In the early 1990s, Joan relocated to Stone Mountain, Georgia and
continued her work as a nurse at several local hospitals and clinics, including The Emory Clinic
and the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University, where she focused on medical oncology.

Joan had a heart for nursing, which was Joan’s “dream” job, and she thoroughly enjoyed working
hard to provide comfort for those entrusted to her care. She participated regularly in community
events and was an active member of Tropical Sports Club for several years. When not working
or socializing, Joan tended to be a homebody, and enjoyed gardening, cooking, a great laugh
watching Judge Judy reruns, and keeping her mind sharp with weekday Jeopardy episodes.

Joan is survived by her daughter (Natasha Graham), son (Joshua Graham), her grandson
(Panuwat Maat Graham), and innumerable family, close friends, and other loved ones near and
far, many of whom enveloped Joan with healing thoughts, love, and prayers in her final weeks
and days.

A funeral service will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 27 at Plummer Funeral Home in
Decatur, Georgia. Viewing will be one hour prior to the services at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in memory of Ms. Joan A. Washington be
made to Winship Cancer Institute. Please designate your gift to the “Winship Cancer Institute:
Patient and Family Services” and / or “Winship Cancer Institute Nursing Education.”

To mail your gift, please make your check payable to Winship Cancer Institute, and send your gift to:  Office of Gift Accounting, Emory University, 1762 Clifton Road, Suite 2400, MS: 0970-001-9AA, Atlanta, GA 30322.  To make your gift via phone, please call Emory at 404.712.GIVE (4483). You may also make your gift online:  visit https://together.emory.edu/give/to/patient-care-and-community-health/winship-cancer-institute scroll down and click on “Winship Cancer Institute: Patient and Family Services”  and / or  “Winship Cancer Institute Nursing Education.”

OR

Use the Winship Cancer Institute Donation Link at the Bottom of this Page

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joan A. Washington, please visit our floral store.