Obituary of Joanne Elaine Barnhart

Joanne Elaine Barnhart, 79, of Rockledge, Florida, passed away peacefully in her sleep at Riverview Senior Resort on May 12, 2021, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Joanne Barnhart was born on November 1, 1941, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Margaret (Way) Hart and John G. Hart. She was the oldest of three children. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Lewis P. Hart. She was survived by her husband, Dr. Barry R. Barnhart (retired Colonel-USAF) until his recent passing on November 16, 2022. Joanne and Barry were high school sweethearts and were married for fifty-eight years.

Joanne is also survived by her three children, Veronica (Craig) Calhoun, of Rockledge, FL; Leslie (Charles) Thomas, of McDonough, GA; and Kevin (Nicole) Barnhart, of Odessa, FL; and grandchildren, Courtney, Chase, Payden, Macy, Colin, Landon, Maddie, Ashlyn, and Olivia; greatgrandchildren, Holden, Graham, Remi Jo, Crew, and Wyatt. She is also survived by her brother, John F. (Cindy) Hart, of Valparaiso, IN; and several nieces and nephews.

Joanne and Barry were married on September 1, 1961, in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania while Barry was in medical school at Temple University. Joanne had just received a diploma in Nursing from Lancaster General Hospital a few months prior. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. Although her formal training was in nursing, her true passion was teaching, which began at Lancaster General Hospital where she taught nursing while her husband served as an Army medic in the Vietnam conflict.

In 1969, Joanne and Barry moved to North East, Maryland to join Barry’s brother, Dr. Jay Barnhart, in family practice. Joanne stayed busy in North East raising their three children, teaching “Good News” Club, and serving as the vice-chair of the Christian Women’s Club where she taught Bible Studies alongside her sister-in-law and best friend, Ruth Barnhart. Joanne and Ruth also took turns in the evening working part-time as nurses for their husbands in the busy medical practice. While living in North East, Joanne was also able to pursue her love for horses, and eventually talked Barry into building a barn so she could keep them on their property.

In 1979, Barry began a new career as an Air Force Flight Surgeon and was stationed in Cocoa Beach, Florida. It wasn’t long before Joanne began teaching again, this time teaching science classes at Merritt Island Christian School where her children attended. After teaching for five years, the Air Force moved them to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where Joanne completed a Master’s degree in Biology from the University of West Florida. Joanne continued to teach at the grade school and college level for many years and impacted the lives of many students.

Joanne eventually retired from teaching to spend more time with her husband and grandchildren. After traveling for a year exploring the country in their RV, they moved to Rockledge, Florida to be closer to family. Soon after, Jay and Ruth moved into the same neighborhood and they shared many good times together. Joanne’s hobbies included reading, quilting, scrap-booking, and making teddy bears from vintage mink coats. She also enjoyed many adventures with her grandchildren and staying in shape with Zumba classes and workout videos. Although she cared little for sailing, she accompanied her husband on many sailing trips as his first mate as long as she could bring a good book and get a suntan. Without exception, her greatest passion in life was Jesus, and she was a great example of Christ to everyone who knew her. Joanne was a member of SunTree United Methodist Church in Melbourne.

Funeral Services for Barry and Joanne will be held on December 21st at the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery (Brevard County) promptly at 1 pm. A Celebration of Life to follow at FishLips Port Canaveral at 2 pm.