Joan Mathis

Joan Eloise Mathis, 83, of Sacramento, passed away at home July 26, 2022, with family by her side. She was born March 11, 1939, to Max and Olga Benedix. She grew up and attended school in Escalon, graduating as salutatorian in 1956. She went to Modesto Junior College and California State University Sacramento, where she studied home economics, earning a Master of Arts in 1962. Along the way, she married the love of her life, Lonnie Wayne Mathis in 1958, and they were together for 64 years.  

After college, Joan began teaching high school in Galt and later Sacramento. She taught home economics at first but later transitioned to occupational training and business/computer skills. Her teaching career was interrupted by a cancer diagnosis in 1993. When told she had less than one year to live, Joan went on to live almost 30 more.

Joan was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, and friend. She was a woman of faith and loved God. She will be remembered for her kindness, playfulness, grace, humor – and occasional eccentricities. With Lonnie by her side, she led a full life, developing close relationships, building homes, and sometimes going on adventures (sailing the Sea of Cortez, for example, or relocating her family to Liberia, Africa, for three months). She loved puzzles, sewing, and playing the piano. Most of all, she loved visiting with family and friends, even when health problems might have hindered her, never complaining and always with a smile that lit up the room.

Joan is preceded in death by her parents, Max and Olga Benedix; her mother-in-law, Corinne McMahon; sister, Jeanine Ulmer and brother Bruce Benedix. She is survived by husband Lonnie; their three children, Kevin, Keir, and Kyle; two daughters-in-law, Darlene and Karen; three grandchildren, Tanner, Alex, and Zoe; her brother, Gary Benedix, and sister Marilyn Ramsey.    

A memorial service will be held at 12:30 pm, Saturday, August 20, 2022 at St. John Lutheran Church at 4606 Michigan Avenue in Valley Home, California.  A reception with lunch follows at 2:00 pm at the Almond Pavilion at 151 South Sierra Avenue in Oakdale, California.