Joan Young Edwards

Joan (Joanie) was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the youngest child of Benjamin E. Young and Madelyn Flanery Young. When Joan was 3 years old, her parents, grandmother and older sister (Ann Young Robinson) moved to the Detroit area. Joan married the love of her life, William (Bill) Stanley Edwards in 1950, and together they raised five children. They were married for 50 years until Bill’s death in 2000. Joan brought joy to so many lives, especially to her family, who just adored her. She was a very loving person to all she met.

Joan had a passion for Virginia and the rolling hills of Charlottesville from the time she was a little girl, as a result of spring vacations her family spent in the area. At around 8+/- years old, she even wrote to a Virginia realtor, asking him to send her listings of Charlottesville real estate. Her dream of living in Virginia would be realized later, when she and her husband moved to Charlottesville, contacted that same realtor and purchased land in the area. They then moved a dilapidated 18th century house to that property, carefully restored it, and later hosted visitors in it through Guesthouses.

Joan had a reverence for all of God’s creation. She appreciated beauty wherever she found it, including in minerals, wildflowers, birds, literature, music, art, antiques and old houses. Her household included a menagerie of animals, and she taught her children to have compassion for every living thing. She was a great supporter of conservation throughout her lifetime.

Joan was a very devout woman, and was an enthusiastic part of prayer groups and Bible studies in her church. She volunteered with many organizations throughout her life, including the schools her children attended, her church, Hospice of the Piedmont and the Rivanna Garden Club. She was a dreamer, and she delighted in bringing people together to work towards something that would use each person’s skills. She tried to encourage anyone going through an illness or a difficult time by visiting them, or taking them flowers. On Thanksgiving or Christmas, if she knew of people who were lonely, she would either invite them to join her family for dinner, or take them a roasted chicken. She loved and tried to live the prayer that has been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is hatred, let me sow love

Where there is injury, pardon

Where there is doubt, faith

Where there is despair, hope

Where there is darkness, light

And where there is sadness, joy.

We are very grateful to the wonderful staff of Dogwood Village who so lovingly cared for our mother, as well as the Rev. Jim Beavers from Christ Anglican Church in Orange who shepherded her through her last years, and her dear longtime friends Robert and Barbara who visited her so faithfully. Joan was predeceased by her husband, William S. Edwards, and one of her sons, John B. Edwards. She is survived by her sons, Bill Edwards and his wife Amy, David Edwards and his wife Janice, and her daughters Anne Ochs and Meg Parker and her husband Harry. She has numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, nieces and nephews, several grand nieces and nephews, and cousins. She was dearly loved by her family and friends and will be sorely missed.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 2 p.m. at Christ Anglican Church, 153 East Main St., Orange, VA.