Obituary of Helen Joan Hargiss

Helen Joan Hargiss known to her friends as Joan, died at the age of 92, in Lebanon, TN, on March 13, 2018.  Born on July 15, 2015, in Wichita, KS, she is survived by her two children, William S. “Bill” Hargiss and Nancy Hargiss-Tatlock and two grandchildren, Alexandra and Aaron Hargiss.  Joan went to the University of Kansas where she met Willard Clarke Hargiss,  Joan and Clarke were married in Topeka, Kansas on August 23, 1947, and the two were married for 56 years until Clarke’s death in 2004.  She was a journalist early in her career for the “Wichita Eagle” and after she and Clarke moved to Philadelphia, Joan worked for the society page for the “Philadelphia Inquirer” until Nancy was born in 1951.  When Clarke was offered a position with Westinghouse, Clarke, Joan and Nancy moved to Kansas City where Bill was born in 1954 and just a few years later when Clarke was offered a job with Rocketdyne, the Hargiss family moved to Southern California where they lived for nearly four decades. Joan and Clarke then moved first to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then when Clarke retired, Clarke and Joan wanted to be closer to their children, so they moved to Santa Maria, California until Clarke’s death in 2004.  As Nancy and Bill had moved to Tennessee, the last 14 years of Joan’s life she lived in Lebanon, Tennessee, where she became a member of Bethlehem Methodist Church and spent much of her time reading, doing crossword puzzles and playing bridge.  A memorial service will be held at Bethlehem Methodist Church in Lebanon, Tennessee on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018 at 4 P.M.   Sellars Funeral Home, Lebanon TN, 615.444.9393.