JoAnn Mahle
- Published: July 16, 2009
JoAnn Fischi Mahle died of cancer on July 9 at the Hospice of Dayton. JoAnn was 72.
She was born Sept. 17, 1936, to James and Mamie Fischi in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. JoAnn grew up in Daleville, Pa., but went to high school in Scranton. While in Daleville she worked in the family diner. She went to college at East Stroudsburg University and graduated with her bachelors. She immediately became a secondary school teacher in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
JoAnn moved to Yellow Springs in 1963 and raised her children, Linda and David, while teaching at Mills Lawn. First she taught third graders, and later, JoAnn became the school’s Title I specialist, a position in which she was unique in her effectiveness in teaching children to read. She continued her education and gained her masters at Wright State University.
JoAnn also had a special interest in helping graduating Yellow Springs students who deal with the effects of learning problems such as dyslexia. She was one of the founders of the GEM (Go the Extra Mile) Award Endowment at the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, an annual award for YSHS graduates.
JoAnn will be remembered especially for her love of, and dedication to, her two children and six grandchildren. That capacity of dedication to children was also obvious and important to the many, many students, parents and guardians she knew at Mills Lawn.
JoAnn was an active member of the Noble Circle Project, a community of women thriving beyond cancer that offers support, inspiration and educational resources to its members.
JoAnn was preceded in death by her father and mother and her brothers, Joseph and Vince.
She is survived by her daughter, Linda Newsome of Kettering; her son and daughter-in-law, David and Erika Mahle of Cedarville; grandchildren, Ryan, Roland and Roman Newsome and Hudson, Jaden and Sophia Mahle; her loving companion, Perry Stewart of Yellow Springs and her former husband, Karl Mahle of Denver.
A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Yellow Springs on Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Yellow Springs Community Foundation for the GEM Endowment or to the Noble Circle Project.
The Yellow Springs News encourages respectful discussion of this article.
You must login to post a comment.
Don't have a login? Register for a free YSNews.com account.
No comments yet for this article.