Joan May Dzienius

Joan May Dzienius
Sep 21 1926 - Mar 22 2017

Joan M. Hamlin was born in Somerset County, England. Her life was deeply impacted when her mother left the family when Joan was very young. Her father, whom she readily adored, did everything possible to keep Joan together with her six brothers and sisters. However, with the onset of WW2, the family was split, and Joan and the other younger children were sent to a boarding home. She gradually gained her independence as she moved into her teenage years. Later in her life she often spoke vividly to her children about the blackouts, night bombing raids, and severe rationing that the English endured through the war years.

As was the experience of many during this time, Joan fell in love with an American GI and married. In 1946 she followed her husband stateside to New York. Naturally this move proved to be quite overwhelming for a nave teenager from the tiny country village of Congresbury, some 10-15 miles from Bristol! Over the next 10 years, Joan and her husband had three children, but the marriage was sadly plagued with issues similar to those Joan experienced in her youth and ended in divorce. Being a single mother of three in the mid-1950s was indeed a challenge, and welfare services were not available to her and her children at the time. The Lutheran church had a huge impact in Joan's life when Pastor Bobsin offered to send her kids to camp at no cost. The church also offered her legal aid and helped bridge the gap when in 1957 she remarried John Dzienius and then in 1960 when the new family unit moved to Long Island.

The 1960s closed out with U.S. landing on the moon, and that last year, 1969, also officially designated Joan as an 'empty nester' with both sons in the military and her daughter married. It was during the 70s that she was able to involve herself in the outdoor pursuits she learned from her dad - animals and gardening, and especially her love affair with horses, which she rode English style. Most of Joan's grandchildren 'cut their teeth in grandma's saddle,' with one still quite active in Oregon's rodeo circuit.

The late 1970's saw John and Joan sell everything they owned in New York and move to Oregon, where they realized a dream of owning a piece of property in the country! It was to be her home for nearly forty years, and when John died in 1998, she was able to remain on site when her youngest built a home there with a mother-in-law apartment.

Joan's last love of her life took place in 2004 when she married Tom Cleland, himself a recent widower. For the next eight years they traveled, bowled, and enjoyed the companionship of many friends, and both became attached to their dog, Barney. Sadly, Tom's health began to decline in 2012, and he had to move to a higher level of care. With Tom's move to a care facility, Joan returned to the home she loved in North Plains, where she remained until the last few months when she herself needed that higher level of care. It was almost to the day one year ago, March 20, 2016 that Joan said goodbye to Tom.

Joan was also preceded in death by her much loved daughter, Karen (Dolly), who bravely fought cancer for fifteen years, and two precious grandchildren. She is survived by eleven grandchildren, countless great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, both in the U.S. and abroad. Two sisters live in England and a brother in California. She had a timely visit with her brother in the fall of 2015, and this past summer she was able to enjoy all the grandchildren together at a family reunion.

Joan's austere beginnings greatly shaped her life, fostering in her an inner strength and resilience. Known for her discipline, routine, and hard work, she valued her life through all peaks and valleys and instilled in her children the importance of family. Kudos Joan! Well done, good and faithful servant!