Joann VanGorder, 81

Joann VanGorder, 81, of Boyers, formerly of Ellwood City, passed away peacefully at Allegheny General Hospital on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

Born in Ellwood City on November 24, 1942, Joann was the daughter of the late Joseph and Ida Barnhouse Kelly.  She married Kenneth VanGorder on October 18, 1961 and they were married three days short of fifty-eight years when he preceded her in death in 2019.  A 1960 graduate of Lincoln High School, Joann was a very active octogenarian.  She still enjoyed riding her side by side, sitting on her porch enjoying all the wildlife that would happen by and Joann was sure she made it to bingo every week.  She was still filling all her deer tags every year and wouldn’t hesitate to shoot a groundhog or two.  When she wasn’t outside, Joann was inside building puzzles.  She built hundreds of them over the years and when she finished one, Ken would build a frame for it.  If she wasn’t enjoying nature, hunting or building puzzles, Joann was enjoying time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who she loved very much.

Joann is survived by her three sons and daughters-in-law, Jeffrey VanGorder of Boyers, PA and Deborah VanGorder of Ellwood City, Mark and Tammy VanGorder of Cabot, AR, and Shawn VanGorder and Jennifer Tomon of Wurtemburg, her sister and brother-in-law, Patty and Larry Houk of Ellwood City, her brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Mary Kelly of Clintonville, PA, fourteen grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents and her husband, Joann was preceded in death by her daughter, Kelly Rice and her granddaughter, Chastity VanGorder.

Friends will be received on Monday, March 18^th from 4:00 PM until the time of the funeral service at 7:00 PM at the Joseph A. Tomon, Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory, 97 Grim Avenue, Ellport.

Private interment will take place in Slippery Rock Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made in Joann’s name to the Marion Township Volunteer Fire Company, 2305 W. Sunbury Rd., Boyers, PA  16020.