Kathleen Harriet (Brown) Joiner

11/30/1924 - 3/10/2017

Kathleen Joiner, of Lincoln, California passed away suddenly at the age of 92 on March 10, 2017.

Kathleen was born in a ranch house twenty miles outside of Jamestown, North Dakota on November 30, 1924 to Harry Valentine Brown, a rancher, and Audrey Wilson Brown, a teacher.

She grew up on the ranch learning, at a young age, to ride her horse and shoot a rifle. She loved the rolling thunder of North Dakota storms and the yipping of coyotes at night across the prairie. She attended a one room school with a total of six students, four of whom were her cousins.

Near the end of the Great Depression, Kathleen moved with her family to South Bend, Indiana where she graduated at the age of sixteen from South Bend Central High School as a member of the National Honor Society. She went to work in a medical office and quickly became the office manager.

After a few years, Kathleen met and fell in love with Charles Joiner, then a young Naval Officer and student at Notre Dame University. Upon his graduation they drove cross country to California, where their children Jim, Richard, Kathy (Swift), and Paul were born.

After arriving in California, Kathleen and Charles began acquiring land, farming, ranching, and developing property in numerous California counties. They later expanded into subdivisions and apartments. She managed their business and its finances, and continued doing so until the day that she passed away.

Kathleen and Charles quietly contributed to a number of causes and were very proud when the City of Lincoln named Joiner Park and Joiner Parkway after them. Two years ago she celebrated her 90th birthday in Rancho Mirage with thirty-two extended family members, and this past summer Kathleen and Charles celebrated their 70th anniversary with their children and their families.

Always ready for a new adventure, Kathleen rode horses for much of her life, earned a pilot's license, flew her own plane, fished the rivers of Alaska, and travelled to six continents. Her favorite destination was the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, Africa where she was thrilled to see many of the most spectacular animals in the world.

As a child Kathleen developed a passion for reading, and as an adult, she usually devoured two books a week. On the morning of her passing, she rallied, was joyful at seeing, talking to, and laughing with her extended family, and after a few hours asked for her iPad, charger, and glasses so she could start reading again. Her love of reading was passed on to many of her children, and grandchildren, and even provided a generational bond between her and her great grandchildren.

She is survived by her husband Charles; children: Jim (Kathy), Richard (Zoe Ann), Kathy Swift (Riley), and Paul (Lisa); grandchildren: Andrew Joiner (Kelly), Stephanie Thompson (Mike), Adam Joiner (Allison), Christopher Swift (Kari), Rebecca Weber (Chuck), Julie Click (Bill), and Jonathon Joiner (Katie), as well as great grandchildren: Kate and Sarah Thompson, Alex, Duncan, Peyton, and Finley Joiner, Carson and Charlie Weber, and Morgan and Donovan Swift.

Kathleen's care and concern for others was legendary and no one who knew her doubts that on the day of her passing she was more concerned about others than herself.

Her family will remain forever grateful to the Lincoln paramedics, and the physicians, nurses, and professionals at Sutter Roseville's Trauma Intensive Care Unit who provided valiant and compassionate care.

A family graveside service is planned.

Published in Gold Country Media Newspapers from Mar. 16 to Sept. 12, 2017

02/03/2023 EJS