Joanne Phyllis Brant (Porich) was born on August 15, 1926 to John and Florence Porich. She left us in the early morning hours of January 4, 2021. In between these dates she lived a wonderfully spirited life.

Her life began near Centralia, Washington in the small mining town named Tono. Her sister, Mary Jean, joined the family two years after Joanne and they enjoyed the run of Tono, experiencing all the positives and negatives a company town had to offer,. There was not much money but there was no shortage of love, family and friendship. In 1942, with the mines becoming less reliable, her parents wanted a more stable life. To accomplish that, they moved to West Seattle.

From Joanne's perspective, it was daunting moving from the one street town of Tono to the bustling city of West Seattle and changing high schools as a junior was quite dramatic. Unsurprisingly, in what would be a life-long component of her life, Joanne would turn a negative into a positive. She thrived in her new environment, making friends quickly and maintaining many of them throughout her life. She not only maintained the friendships made in West Seattle, she kept in contact with several friends from the Centralia area. And, not one to miss a party, she attended both reunions from West Seattle High School and Centralia High School.

After graduating from West Seattle, Joanne attended the University of Washington. She married and had two children, John and Ken. The three of them would be the hub of her family but others would be added throughout her life. From her second marriage she welcomed three children into her family, Robert Brant, Sharon Brant and Clarke Brant. And she welcomed a daughter-in-law in 1981, Linda Tallquist (Cleveland).

Joanne loved all her children and reveled in their success but then her children gave her grandkids they quickly became the apple of her eye. And when her grandkids had children she was blessed with an entire orchard.

Five children, seven grandchildren and seventeen great grandchildren were quite a family but equally as important to her was her extended family. Joanne's niece and nephews, their families and their families family contributed greatly to her happiness. As her family expanded her beloved holiday celebrations with them were a crazy, chaoticness of great conversation, laughter and love. And the only place she wanted to be.

There was no question that her family occupied a special place in Joanne's heart. But they had to share that heart with her many friends and their families. And because she essentially viewed everyone as family, theses friends played a huge roll in her life. As previously mentioned, she maintained life-long friendships with her friends from high school and she also established strong ties with many of the colleagues she met working in the Highline School District, a job she held for over 30 years. And several of those "work friends" were at her side in her last days.

Because she spent almost 60 years in the same house, Joanne also garnered friendships from her neighborhood. Whether they were the parents of her kids' friends or neighbors she met on her many walks through Marine Hills or the families in the houses next door, Joanne welcomed them into her life. And there they stayed until its conclusion. Not only did Joanne develop relationships with her children's friends and their parent, she made fast friends with several of her kids' teachers and counselors. These relationships would be maintained for over 45 years.

In reality, Joanne was more than just friends with all of these people. She was either Grandma Jo or Aunt Jo to their children and their children's children. She always said that she was truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in her life. And it was very apparent that her family and friends felt the same about having her in their lives.

This mutual love for each other was never more evident than when Joanne was turning 90 years old. Her family wanted to have a big celebration but Joanne was worried about the burden it would cause. Once that fear was alleviated, she relayed to the family the names of the relationships that meant the most to her. When the number of guests past the century mark her family wondered if the hall would be large enough. But with the number of invites that would not be able to make the party, they thought they would be fine. Once the RSVP's began to arrive, the family realized they would need a bigger hall.

Family first, her friends a close second, and anyone she met third. That was the way Joanne lived her life. She always felt that her relationships with these groups and the positive impact they had on her life made her time here very special. But I think all would agree that Joanne's impact on their lives and the lives of their families was truly the remarkable accomplishment. And they would thank her for her kindness, her caring and know hers was a life well lived.