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Joan April Powers died peacefully surrounded by her family on Sunday, December 18, 2016. She was born on December 27, 1946 to George and Winefride (Harrison) Whiteside in the beautiful Lake District of Kendal, England where she spent most of her youth outdoors playing on the fells, hills and rivers of Northwest England appreciating God’s natural creation. Joan found her calling in Nursing. She was the epitome of a caring Registered Nurse with over 30 years service in Psychiatric Nursing, in England and in Texas. Her cause was always championing the rights of the downtrodden and less fortunate. Many of her patients called her “Princess Diana” for her hearty laugh and her charm. Schooling: Queen Katherine School, Kendal, England; graduate of the Royal Lancaster School of Nursing, Lancaster, England; Master’s of Divinity, Anglican Church, San Antonio; post graduate studies at University of Texas at San Antonio. Hospitals served: Royal Lancaster Infirmary; Lancaster Moor Hospital; University of Texas Medical Branch, John Sealy Hospital, Galveston; Methodist and Baptist Hospital Systems, San Antonio. Joan served not only in the intense daily pressure of Psychiatric Nursing but was also a Chaplain with the Methodist Hospital, a prison Chaplain and a Hospice Nurse. Along with her busy work schedule, she found time with her husband to raise 3 children and adopt another. She also volunteered for the American Red Cross, (serving in relief efforts after super typhoon Paka in Guam), Child Advocates San Antonio – CASA, the Civil Air Patrol, Randolph AFB, and the Wounded Warrior Project’s Give an Hour Program providing support and counseling for Veterans. She loved traveling, studying art, painting, was an avid reader – 1,000 book home library, and especially enjoyed snorkeling and yachting in the Caribbean with her husband and close friends. She enjoyed being a Liturgist/Lay Reader at St. Helena’s Episcopal Church, Boerne where her English accent was enjoyed by the congregation. Her travels included Italy, France, Switzerland, Rhodesia, Zambia and South Africa. Athletically, she was proud to have placed second in a 5 mile run for the Over 50 Women’s Class at UTSA. Also, there could not have been a greater lover of animals and her home was always a refuge for a half dozen cats. Predeceased by her mother, Winefride Harrison Whiteside, another stellar British Staff Nurse; and her father, George Whiteside who served in the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment of the British Army; and her brother, Keith Whiteside, of Kendal. Joan published her father’s collection of The Clarion, a prisoner of war newsletter of the British troops captured in Dunkirk in WWII, which was printed for 5 years during their captivity. Joan also enjoyed writing poetry. She has also written her own fact based historical fiction novel on the adventures of King Arthur and the Green Knight. She is survived by her husband of 40 years, William L. Powers; her children, Keith K. Powers, Paul W. Powers, Jane E. W. Powers, and Jeremy Favor; brother-in-law, Jeffrey Powers; sister-in-law, Julie Powers; nephews, Aaron Powers, Joshua Powers; nieces, Hannah Powers Ware and husband, Jeffrey, and Liesje Powers; sister-in-law, Lee Whiteside; nephew, Thomas William Whiteside and wife, Hannah; and nieces, Vicky Whiteside, Georgina Whiteside, and Gillian Henry and husband, Kevin. SERVICES A Memorial Service will be at 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, December 22, 2016 at St. Helena’s Episcopal Church, 410 North Main Street, Boerne, TX 78006. A Reception will follow at the Church Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Joan’s memory may be made to St. Helena’s Episcopal Church.

Tributes

Joan April Powers

December 27, 1946 - December 18, 2016