Obituary of Joan A Ecker

Joan A. Ecker July 6th 1930 – September 10th 2023 Beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, cousin and aunt, Joan Ecker, of Jensen Beach, FL passed away in Park City, Utah on September 10th 2023 at the age of 93 surrounded by her loved ones. Joan’s love of life didn’t come to an end with her death--her family and friends will continue to honor her legacy by living their lives to the fullest. Joan was born in Queens, New York to Edmund Mihalics and Rosalia Kisslinger Mihalics. She lived in New York for over 60 years while working for the New York Daily News. She retired and relocated to Jensen Beach, FL where she and her beloved husband, Francis Chester Ecker enjoyed their retirement and made wonderful friends both old and new. The simplest pleasures in life brought great joy to Joan. Her playful personality was contagious to everyone she met. She loved telling stories of what life was like during the Depression Era and all the colorful “Spanky and Our Gang” characters she grew up with as a tomboy on the streets of New York. Joan was a strong woman who was eternally happy and optimistic. She woke up every morning with a smile on her face and went to bed each night grateful for everyone she had in her life even when life was difficult. Joan’s greatest treasure was being with her family and cooking wonderful dinners every night and especially on Sunday afternoons. Everyone loved her Viennese specialties, potato pancakes, kipfels, and the ever vanishing linzer tarts. She was the matriarch of the Kisslinger family and kept excellent records and photos of the family ancestral history. Finding ways to be generous to her friends and family brought great happiness to Joan. She worked in the Church Soup Kitchens putting her cooking skills to work feeding the homeless and also made warm clothing for the homeless at her Knitting Angels Club. She will be dearly missed by all of her friends and family members including her children, Lisa, Laura, Linda, Tina, Roberta, and Frank, as well as grandchildren, Christy, Arielle, Alex, Ally, Brianna, Kimberly, and Tristan and great grandchildren Mason, Nova Lee, Aurora (Rory) and Tinsley. She is also remembered dearly by all her cousins, friends, grand nieces and nephews. Joan was preceded in death by her husbands, Francis Chester Ecker and John Walter Kern and daughter, Andrea Kern. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 AM on October 18th, 2023 at St Nicholas of Tolentine Parish at 150-75 Goethals Avenue Jamaica, NY 11367. A brief Internment Service will be held at Noon on October 18th, 2023, at St John’s Cemetery at 80-01 Metropolitan Ave Middle Village , NY 11379. A Celebration of Life Luncheon will be held at Lenny's Clam Bar & Restaurant at 1:00 PM on October 18th, 2023, at 161-03 Cross Bay Boulevard Howard, Beach, NY. In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to Catholic charities https://catholiccharitiesny.org/waystogive/