Joan Marie Weis

Joan Marie Weis, 76, of Escondido, passed away on May, 10th, 2016 at home with her husband and two sons present. Her whole family was present for Mother's Day, May 8th, two days before her death. Joan was born June 18, 1939 in Bismarck, North Dakota to Melvin and Selma Berdahl. She grew up in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. After graduating from the University of Idaho, she taught school in Weston, Oregon and Kennewick, Washington. She specialized in business education and typing (with the noisy old mechanical typewriters). She met a quiet and shy young engineer at a ski club meeting in Kennewick and they were married on June 22, 1968. She continued to teach in Seattle, Washington, while the young engineer attended graduate school. There she gave birth to her first son, Gary. They moved to San Jose, California, and subsequently she gave birth to her second son, Randy. Then a move to Encinitas, California, in 1978. Joan spent the next 38 years in the area, moving to Escondido in 1986. Joan retired from teaching in 1978 to support her sons in school functions and outside sporting programs. She ran the snack shacks for eight years while both sons participated in Pop Warner football practices and games. This support continued through high school and college. Joan was also a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Encinitas for many years and supported young group activities. Joan's personal passion was skiing. She started skiing around Coeur d'Alene and continued with the local ski club in Kennewick. During the Seattle stay, she was a skiing instructor on Saturdays for the school age kids. When her sons were older, she started driving them to Eden and Park City, Utah, to teach them skiing. When the sons were off to college, she convinced the no longer young engineer to join in the Utah skiing. This led to a Marriott timeshare there in 1998. This continued for 18 years, ending in 2015. In 2002, her dream came true with a second timeshare at the magnificent Westgate Resort in Park City. In the meantime, marriages resulted in two grandsons and one granddaughter. One grandson became an avid skier. Joan was also enamored with the Boxer breed of dogs. The first joined the family in San Jose. The next four in succession were present during the 30 years in Escondido. The most recent is Harlee, a very quite female brindle. This produced long walks throughout the neighborhood with the enjoyment of meeting and talking with neighbors on the way. The last two boxers even went along to the timeshares and hotels while traveling. Joan was a selfless person. Her philosophy was to make sure everyone else's needs were met before attending to hers. She was generous in the virtue of giving without expecting anything in return. And many times declined if any return was offered. She did not want recognition for this generosity. She never put herself first. Joan maintained a positive attitude toward everything in life. During her three years fighting cancer, all of the doctors and nurses marveled at her positive attitude. Even knowing that she could no longer ski in 2016 due to the cancer, she told people "I'm going skiing" and made the trip to Utah to see her grandson ski. Joan is survived by husband, Daniel and sons Gary (wife Sara and grandson Carson and granddaughter Layla) and Randy (wife Sandy and grandson Blake). Her Celebration of Life will be held at San Marcos Lutheran Church on May 19th, 2016. She will have a grave side service following the Celebration at Escondido's Oak Hill Cemetery, 2640 Glenridge Road, Escondido. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the San Marcos Lutheran Church.

Joan Marie Weis

May 10, 1940 - May 10, 2016