Joan Marie Patricia Shields Branscome
Branscome
Joan Marie Patricia Shields Branscome
Joan Marie Patricia Shields Branscome, 71, was born Aug. 17, 1947, to John and Olga Shields in Spokane, Wash.
She passed away on April 22, 2019 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, from a brain aneurysm.
Joan is survived by her husband, Roger Branscome Sr., her son Roger Lee Branscome Jr. and wife Gina, her daughter Teresa Skeen and husband Claine, her son Marc Branscome and wife Kerri. Three grandsons, Austin Skeen, Ryan Branscome and Anthony Skeen. Seven granddaughters, Larissa Branscome, Leah Branscome, Allison Branscome, Shanay Branscome, Mattea Branscome, Alyssa Skeen and Mackayla Skeen. Two great-grandchildren, Paityn Skeen and Isaiah Skeen. Six sisters, Patricia Mclaren and husband Roy, Margaret Huckeba, Veronica Dennis, Ann Pang and husband Dane, Jane Shields, and Elizabeth Heaps and husband Timothy. Two brothers, John Shields and wife Marilyn, and Joseph Shields. Plus numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Joan was preceded in death by her father John, mother Olga, sister Mary McCuin, brother Daniel Shields, brother-in-law John Dennis, grandson Isaac Branscome, nieces Patty and Susie McCuin. Joan was raised in a Catholic family on Sharp Street in Spokane as the youngest of eight daughters followed by her three younger brothers.
She attended Holy Names Academy with her sisters and spent her summers with extended family in the Kootenai Valley of North Idaho.
Joan met her husband Roger Branscome, who was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, in 1967. They married in 1968 and moved to Roger’s hometown in Hillsville, Va. In 1969, they were blessed with their first child Roger Lee, Jr. In 1972, their daughter Teresa Elizabeth was born, followed by their second son, Marc Anthony, in 1973.
The family later moved to Porthill, Idaho, in 1979 where Joan and Roger resided for the past 40 years. Thirty of those years, Joan and Roger owned and operated a maintenance and cleaning company overseeing contracts for the U.S. Border Station.
Joan and Roger recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary — a milestone she was extremely proud of and a testament to the love they shared with each other.
Joan enjoyed many talents and hobbies. She was an avid writer of poetry, loved to cook and sew. Nothing brought her more joy than being there for her friends and family, and her heart and home was always open.
Joan’s love for others was contagious and she had the ability to make others feel like they were the most important person in the room. She never met a stranger she couldn’t turn into family. Numerous people chose to call her Mom or NaNa, because she was the love they needed, in the way they needed it, every moment they were near her.
Although our loss is great and she can never be replaced, we can find comfort in knowing her love lives on in all of us until we see her again.