Joanne Olive Posey

Joanne Olive Posey was born Feb. 24, 1931, in Portland, Oregon, to Arne and Francis Oja. Joanne spent her younger years with her family in the Bonney Slope area. In the 1940s, when Joanne was 12 years old, the family moved from Bonney Slope to Brownsmead, Oregon.

Joanne graduated from Knappa High School, and soon after she worked for the Knappa Telephone Co., where as an operator she connected many of the local calls. Then she met a man from Houghton Lake, Michigan, on his way to Alaska with homesteading papers for the Matanuska Valley, but she foiled that plan. Lester L. Posey never made it there. He started courting Joanne in the upper Brownsmead area, and they were soon married on Nov. 6, 1951.

Sharon was their first child to come along, then followed by Mike, Tom, Kay and Ross. Joanne was known as the community babysitter. In addition to babysitting, she was also a homemaker and loved gardening, annual family campouts and clam digging.

Joanne is survived by her brother, Richard Oja; and her five children, Sharon Rabie (Don) of Portland, Mike Posey (Sheri) of Svensen, Tom Posey (Anona) of Portland, Kay Walker (Jeff) of Lebanon, and Ross Posey (Judy) of Battle Ground, Washington; 12 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and lots of nieces and nephews.

Joanne was proceeded in death by her husband, Lester, in 1995; her brother, Donald; her parents, Arne and Francis Oja; and two sisters, Vivian Engblom (Dunsmoor) and Carol Barendse.

Viewing will be held at Caldwell’s Mortuary in Astoria on Friday, March 16, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Services will be held at the old Immanuel Lutheran Church in Knappa on Saturday, March 17, at 1 p.m., with a reception following.

Memorial donations may be made to Samaritan Evergreen Hospice, 4600 Evergreen Place S.E., Albany, OR 97322; the Svensen Senior Center; or the Svensen-Wickiup Grange.