Joanne Rae (Clarke) Brenneman, 93

Mrs. Joanne Rae (Clarke) Brenneman, 93, of Princeton, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, October 24th, 2023.

Mrs. Brenneman was born on November 21st, 1929 in Ellwood City to the late Edwin and Ivy (Hummel) Clarke. She was the youngest of two children. Her sister, Ruth (Clarke) Aumiller preceded her in death, along with her parents.
After graduating from Lincoln High School, she met the love of her life George Laverne Brenneman, at youth group, who she married on October 10th, 1949 at Bell Memorial Church in Ellwood City. They just celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary.

Joanne’s greatest joy in life was her family: sons Dale (Faith) Brenneman of Portersville and Doug (Barb) Brenneman of New Castle, daughter Georganne (Dan) Monroy of Ellwood City, 8 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.
Throughout the years, Joanne attended and served at Portersville Bible Church, Oak Grove Presbyterian, Faith Country Chapel, Calvary Temple, and Harmony Baptist Church. She loved the Lord fiercely and was a committed prayer warrior. She was known to have many people on her prayer list for years and continued to pray for them until they gave their lives to Jesus. This list could include kids from her Sunday School classes and 4-H groups that she taught, to the love interests that her kids and grandkids brought home, and everyone in between. Her unwavering faith and humble servanthood touched many lives throughout the years.

Besides her faith, some of Joanne’s favorite things included: all her pets, especially her dogs and a couple special cats, chocolate peanut butter ice cream, horses, and watching her favorite westerns on TV. But most of Joanne’s enjoyment came from her family. Before her health started to fail, she wouldn’t miss a concert, ball game, or horse show. She tagged along to the bowling alley, or in later years, waited by the phone to hear how George did in his weekly bowling league. She was the ultimate encourager and cheer-leader. Her happiness came from knowing her husband and kids were happy. And she knew how to make them happy. Grandmas house was the place for sleepovers and playing make believe, pancakes with smiley faces, and songs and stories such as “Jim Jump”, “Twenty Froggies”, and her favorite “Jesus” (There’s Just Something About That Name). Joanne knew how to love, and in turn, was deeply loved by all that knew her. She will be greatly missed.

Visitation will be held on Friday from 3-6 pm at the Samuel Teolis Funeral Home and Crematory Inc. and again on Saturday from 10:00 am until the time of the service at 11:00 am at the Harmony Baptist Church with Rev. Jeff MacKay officiating. Interment will be at the Portersville Bible Church Cemetery.