Joan Lee Hotchkiss

Mrs. Joan Lee Hotchkiss, 88, formerly of Knoxville, Illinois, died at 11:33 p.m. Tuesday, September 13, 2016 in Galesburg Cottage hospital.

She was born July 3, 1928 in Elgin, Illinois the daughter of Virgil B. and Zehra (Rotnour) Felter. She married Morton L. Hotchkiss on September 2, 1948 at the Methodist Church in Antioch, Illinois. He preceded her in death on September 15, 2007.

Surviving are her two daughters, Debra (Wayne) Mastin of Knoxville and Shawna (Gary) Lorenz of Huntley, Illinois; three grandchildren, Kylee (Mark) Simpson, Kane Mastin, and Megan (Brock) Rady; and three great granddaughters, Sydnee and Harper Simpson and Danika Rady.

Joan graduated from Antioch High School in 1946 and from Knox College in 1950, the same year she and her husband moved from Wataga to Knoxville. She began her teaching career in 1950 as an employee of Knoxville Community Unit District #202 and retired in 1985 from the district after 28 years during that period.

A former member of Chapter AM, P.E.O., she served six years on the Board of Trustees of the Illinois P.E.O. Home, was a charter member of the Knoxville School Foundation, was a member of the Board of Directors of Knox County Historic Sites, a member of Knox County Retired Teachers’ Association, and a member of the Knox College Alumni Council, where she served four years as secretary and a number of years on the Knox Fund Steering Committee.

She was a charter member of the Friends of the Knox County Home, serving three years as its first president. She also served as a Knox County Jury Commissioner from 1995-2010 and for a brief period as a member of the Knoxville City Council, appointed by the mayor to fill an unexpired term.

She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Galesburg, the Knox Fifty Year Club, writing numerous articles for their BULLETIN, a member of Pi Beta Phi and its Galesburg Alumnae Club, a member of Siwash Sisters’ Book Club, and a member of the Knox County Humane Society, for which she served many years as corresponding secretary.

In 2002, at Homecoming Convocation, she received a Knox College Service Award, in the same year she was chosen Volunteer of the Year for the Knox County Nursing Home, and later inducted into the Gallery of Ageless Achievers sponsored by the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging. In 2008, she received the Knox College Fifty Year Club Scroll of Honor.

Cremation will be accorded. Memorial services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, September 24, 2016 in First United Methodist Church. Pastor Mary Runge will officiate. The family will greet friends at a luncheon following the service. Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church of Galesburg, the Knox College Fifty Year Club, or the Knox County Humane Society. Hinchliff-Pearson-West Funeral Directors and Cremation Services of Galesburg is handling arrangements for the family. Online condolences may be made at www.h-p-w.com.