LAKE WALES, FLORIDA – Joan Ann Cauley, 78, of Lake Wales, Florida, passed away early Saturday morning, January 30, 2021, at Memorial Hospital Jacksonville, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Joan lived most of her life in New York State. A native of Cooperstown, Joan was born at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital November 10, 1942, a daughter of Edward Louis Kirn, Sr. and Mollie Marie Oblak Kirn. Raised on the family farm in Hartwick, she attended Snowden Hill School No. 1, a one room schoolhouse that still stands and coincidentally is the same one her mother attended. Joan continued her studies at Hartwick School and later Cooperstown High School.
During her high school years she was active in the Girls’ Athletic Association, the Drama Club and played cornet in the band. She graduated from Cooperstown High School with the Class of 1960.
Joan went on to study Food Service Management at SUNY Cobleskill and graduated in 1962. Upon graduating, Joan worked for Servomation Food Services. She worked as Food Service Manager for various hospitals up and down the east coast of the United States. Joan later served as Food Service Manager of Oswego Hospital in the city of Oswego, where she met her future husband Timothy. The couple wed in 1966 at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Cooperstown.
Joan later earned her Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Empire State College in Syracuse. She served for many years as a Program Assistant and Agent for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County in Mexico. She managed various 4-H programs in Oswego County. She also worked extensively with Cornell University.
Joan lived in Mexico and Altmar, New York for many years. The family owned a camp on Lorton Lake. In later years she and her husband wintered in Lake Wales, Florida.
Joan touched many people during her 78 years. From the students and adults she worked with through her work and volunteering, to her friends in Mexico, Altmar and Lake Wales. Her door was always open, “Come in and have a cup of coffee,” should would often say, catching up with friends around the kitchen table.
Joan was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She and her husband Timothy raised their two daughters on a small farm in Mexico. Joan was the heart and soul of the family. She truly lived her life to serve others. This was her greatest gift.
Joan is survived by her husband of 54 years, Timothy Patrick Cauley of Lake Wales, Florida; two daughters Cathleen Matt and son-in law Jeffery Matt of Ponte Vedra, Florida and Christine Artman and son-in-law Alexander Artman of Katy, Texas; four grandchildren Audrey and Sophia Matt of Ponte Vedra, Florida and Madeline and Gabrielle Artman of Katy, Texas; a sister, Rosemary Hoag and husband, Donald of Toddsville; two brothers, Edward L. Kirn, Jr. and wife, Pat of The Villages, Florida and Robert G. Kirn and wife, Charlene of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee; and several nieces and nephews.
Joan will be laid to rest later this year in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Cooperstown
Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers at (607) 547-8822, or A Rose is a Rose at (607) 264-3100.
