Joanne L. Kokenda

Joanne L Kokenda, 91, peacefully went to join many loved ones and passed away at Assisted Living at Rosebrook Thursday, April 1, 2021.  During her final day, she received phone calls from her grandchildren who wanted to let her know how very much she was loved and would be missed.

She was born May 26, 1929 to Lewis & Virginia (Sylves) Cruikshank in Tarentum.  Joanne was always a lot of fun and had a special group of 7 other girls from high school with whom she remained very close all her life and she was proud to be one of the few remaining.

She briefly attended nurses’ training and married one of the loves of her life, Walt, in October, 1948.  They had 4 children and Walt sadly passed away at the very young age of 39 in 1966.  Joanne became breadwinner and sole parent to her children until she married her second husband, John (Jack) Kokenda in 1969. 

Joanne and Jack made their home in Sarver until 1993 when they moved to Melbourne, Fl where they happily resided until 2015 when they moved back to Pennsylvania. They lived briefly in Natrona Heights and Tarentum with Jack passing in 2018.  Joanne moved to Rosebrook in September, 2018 where she was cared for very lovingly and with much dignity and respect.  The family is especially grateful to the entire Rosebrook staff for the care they gave Joanne and we will be forever thankful to them for loving her and making her part of their family.

She had been employed as a dental assistant for Dr. Robert Ostrosky and as a chiropractic assistant for Dr. L J. Gaston until retiring in 1990.

Joanne was very involved in many groups and activities throughout her life.  She was a member of the former First Congregational Church of Tarentum and attended several churches in Florida.  She was active throughout her children’s lives in school activities and served as president of many organizations.  If you ever needed a program put together, Joanne was just the one to do it.  Her imagination and love of life always made for a great presentation and lots of fun.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husbands Walt and Jack and her sons - Jeff Duke in 2007 and Ron Duke in 2018.  Joanne suffered a lot of loss in her life and was very anxious to see her “boys” again.

She is survived by her daughters, Cindy (Jim) Reo of Allegheny Township, Lori (Dan) Cochran of Columbia, MD, Kelle (Frank) Dignazio of Plum Borough and Judi (Frank) Dickson of Scottsdale, AZ; daughter-in-law Donna Duke of Sarver and son John ”Mickey” (Kristen) Kokenda of Greenwood, SC, 11 grandchildren and their spouses and many great grandchildren and even a great-great grandchild all of whom she loved with all her heart.  She is also survived by her brother, Gerry, of Arroyo Grande, CA. 

She will be missed by so many friends and family but we are all very assured that she has gone on to a better place and will be reunited with all those that have gone before.

At Joanne’s request, there will be no viewing and services will be private. Arrangements by Duster Funeral Home, Inc. 347 E 10^th Ave, Tarentum, 724-224-1526. VISIT: dusterfh.com