Joanne (Joan) Lois Seitz Corney passed away in Frisco, TX on September 14, 2024, at the age of 92. Joanne, cherished daughter of Frederick John Seitz, Sr. and Muriel Louise Windus, was born on May 28, 1932, in Woodside, Queens, New York.
Joanne graduated from Valley Stream Central High School in June 1949 at the age of seventeen. She followed her passion for art and education, earning a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Buffalo State Teachers’ College in 1953. Joanne married Blair Shipman Corney, Jr. on July 25, 1953, in Valley Stream, NY. Together, they raised two wonderful daughters, Janne Lois and Lynne Ann.
Joanne and Blair moved to Oklahoma in 1960, where Joanne continued her life-long love of learning and teaching. She earned a Master of Education in Reading from Central State College, Edmond, OK, in 1974, becoming a certified Reading Specialist and expert in Learning Disabilities. Joanne dedicated her career to special education, teaching in Oklahoma City Public Schools from 1966 until her retirement in 1990. She was a member of the Council for Exceptional Children for many years and, in 1988, the Oklahoma Federation of The Council for Exceptional Children awarded her the first-ever Eva Robinson award for outstanding special educator who spends all his/her time in the classroom.
After retiring from public education, Joanne continued to make a difference as a private tutor for children and adults with dyslexia in Midwest City, Oklahoma, from 1990 to 2006.
In 2000, Joanne read about a model shipbuilding group and went to the shop where the group met, looking for someone to complete a small-scale rendition of the Blue Nose, a Canadian racing ship depicted on the Canadian dime, that her husband Blair had been working on at the time of his death in 1996. The model-makers there convinced her to complete the ship herself, which she did, and then went on to work on other ship models.
Joanne moved to Plano, Texas, in 2006 to be closer to her daughters but continued her tutoring. Joanne was a passionate genealogical researcher, compiling an extensive family database. She also began volunteering at the genealogy department of the Dallas Public Library as well as W. O. Haggard Library in Plano, TX, working with the Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, who she referred to as her “GenFriends.” She started a Legacy Family Tree users’ group within GenFriends and taught others to use the Legacy Family Tree software program to document their own genealogy. As further evidence of her love of learning, she taught herself the “new” technology of computers and built several desktop computers from scratch, including ones for her two of her grandsons.
Joanne’s legacy lives on through her family and the countless lives she touched through her work in education and genealogy. She will be deeply missed but forever remembered with love and gratitude.
Joanne is survived by her two daughters, Janne Ackerman (husband Garry), of Plano, TX, and Lynne Grant Essary (husband Dennis) of Frisco, TX; four grandchildren, Jennifer Gilliland (husband Tim); Bethany Flint (husband George); Kyle Essary (wife Stephanie); Brad Essary (wife Allie); Justin Grant (wife Kelly); and Bryan Grant (wife Rand)i; as well as 15 great-grandchildren, Riley, Zachery, Ethan, and Madelyn Gilliland; Michelle, Tina, and Hailey Grant; Gracie and Emmalee Essary; Cole and Logan Flint; Dorian, Gideon, and Charlotte Essary; and George Grant; and sister-in-law, Janet Seitz and her family; all of whom who will never forget the love she brought to their lives.
Joanne was preceded in death by her husband, Blair, brother Frederick John Seitz, Jr., and her parents.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Joanne’s memory to the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. in Smithtown, NY, or the Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc.
Memorial services will be private. She will be interred next to her parents in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.
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