Joanna Elizabeth Buck, age 94 of Newport, peacefully entered the presence of her Lord on
Monday, April 7, 2025, at her home where she lived for the last 25 years.
 
Born on August 1, 1930, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Joanna was the daughter of William
and Katherine (Stoltz) Buck.
 
Joanna graduated from Lebanon Catholic high school in 1948. Following graduation, she
worked as a telephone operator to earn money to go to college. She enrolled at the
Kutztown State Teacher's College in 1951 to become an art teacher, against the advice of
her mother. After graduating from Kutztown in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Art Education, she took an art teaching job in the Blain Union school system. She earned a
Master of Education from Kutztown State College in 1968. In 1964, Blain Union
consolidated with 2 other Perry County school systems to established West Perry School
District. She was employed by West Perry School District as an art teacher until retiring in
1994.
 
Joanna enjoyed her life to the fullest, influencing hundreds of students with her talent as an
art teacher and the wisdom she shared as she taught life lessons along the way. She was
active in the community through her art shows and donations of artwork to institutions both
locally and around the world. Some of her artwork is displayed in local businesses around
Newport, in the St. Bernard Catholic Church, and in the homes of family and friends in Perry
and surrounding counties. Even in the Kremlin in the former USSR, a tapestry of hers was
displayed for a few years. Some of her paintings were sent to a Roman Catholic Church in
Ethiopia. Her hobbies included painting, caring for rescued dogs and horses, and planting
and nurturing flowers, shrubs, and trees on her 10-acre property. She was passionate
about doing her part to steward and preserve the beautiful world God has given us. She
was a faithful and active member of St. Bernard Catholic Church in New Bloomfield.
 
She is survived by nieces Barbara LaNore (68) of Waldorf, Maryland and Katherine Buck
(64) of Clinton Maryland, and a nephew Thomas W. Buck (65) of Lebanon, Pennsylvania as
well as several distant cousins.
A visitation will be held in the narthex of St. Bernard Catholic Church, 811 Shermans Valley
Road, New Bloomfield, PA 17068, on Friday, April 11, 2025, from 10 AM until the Mass of Christian Burial
 at 11 AM.  A Graveside Service will follow in the Bloomfield Cemetery, New Bloomfield.