Joan (Chastain) Cole was born on 2 June 1955 to Wm Barnett and Dora Mae Chastain.  She passed from this life on 24 March 2023.  She was the youngest of ten children.  She was raised in the Sautee-Nachoochee Valley near Helen, GA and was graduated from White County High School in 1975. Those are the basic facts of her life… but what follows is how the dash in between was lived.

She was a vivacious, sensitive, fun loving person.  She had a deep abiding faith in God and it showed in everything throughout her life.  She was the loving wife of Clay, her husband, for almost 47 years.  Together, they pursued a military career and they did all of the things that military families do throughout a career.  Joan was the bedrock of the family and was constantly engaged in all the things that the distaff did to support their Army spouses.  She worked at the Thrift Shops, worked special event fund raisers, chaired committees, worked at the on post schools and did whatever behind the scene work that was required to support "the Army".  She loved the work, never complained and was always there to lend a hand.  She had a servant's heart and it showed in everything she did.

Her greatest loves were her husband, Clay, and her two daughters, Carrie and Lindsay.  She devoted every waking moment to their wellbeing, often sacrificing what she wanted in favor of her family.  She was the consummate room mother and teachers clamored for her support.  She was undoubtedly the best baker that ever sprinkled flour into a baking pan and she constantly showered her friends and family with baked goods.

After the Army and later in life, there came the two son-in-laws, Jason and Luke.  She loved them both dearly, as they were the sons she never had.  Soon, there was another great love, her granddaughter, Sarah.  Just as with her girls, Joan, the room mother swung into action and she took up being a fantastic grandmother until the end of her days.

She loved her girls and loved to do things with them and especially loved to shop.  She could shop all day, touch every item in every store in town and not buy a single thing.. and be perfectly happy!

She never met a stranger.  She loved her husband with a fervor that few men will ever know.  She was a born again Child of God and made sure that everyone knew it.

She is gone from us now, but she is in God's Holy Presence and rejoicing in heaven.  Her illnesses are gone and she is no longer in pain.  She has a new and glorious body and walks the streets of gold.

We love her, we miss her terribly, and know that we shall see her again in God's good time.