Joan Tyree Memorial Fund

If you're visiting this page, you probably already know Joan Tyree. She was a sister, a friend, a colleague, and most importantly, a mother. Volumes could be written about her kindness, her unconditional love for those around her, her quiet but resolute faith, her unyielding optimism and incredible strength. If you mentioned these qualities to Joan, she would laugh and politely change the subject. What we saw as extraordinary, she saw as exceedingly ordinary. 

Joan could be frustratingly humble about her accomplishments. But when it came to her children, Lauren and James, her humility wavered and for good reason. Lauren graduated from Shepherd University in 2015. She's currently teaching kindergartners in Washington DC as part of City Year, an AmeriCorps program. James, an Eagle Scout majoring in graphic design, will graduate from George Mason University in just a few weeks. Throughout Joan's nearly five year battle with cancer, she remained a proud and fierce mother. It was obvious to everyone around her that the needs of her children came first, even before her own health.

In the last few weeks, there has been a huge outpouring of support for Joan and her family. This GoFundMe has a singular purpose: to channel that goodwill in a way that we know would make Joan smile. All proceeds will be given to Jane (Joan’s twin sister) and Joan’s two children so that they can focus on healing and not worry about the memorial expenses, medical costs incurred in the last few weeks or other regular bills. No amount is too small and every penny will be used to support her family in this difficult time.

Lastly, Joan addressed a group of survivors after beating her first round of cancer. The entirety of her remarks is attached, but a few sections highlight her attitude and may give some consolation to those mourning her passing. 

". . . It is the most aggressive and more likely to return than any other forms of breast cancer. Because of this report, I needed to have chemotherapy, my worst nightmare! After I got over the shock and realized this is really happening to me, I moved from my pity party and decided I needed to get myself together if I was going to fight this. 

Fortunately, I had an outpouring of family and friends that helped me through this difficult time. My sister was a rock for me and I had a great friend who took me to every chemo appointment. Like clockwork my friend was at my door before every scheduled appointment to get me there and back home. She never let me think about getting down about the situation, she always showed up with a smile on her face and an encouraging word or a joke to tell.

I also knew this journey was a test of my faith. It's easy to say you have faith until it's put to the test, so it was time now for me to reflect and draw strength from the faith I said I had! My pastor and church family, kept me in prayer and I felt the prayers of my church family and friends working in my life. . . 

One of the keys to making it through is to hold your head up high lean on your faith, family and friends and fight as if your life depends on it. A famous writer put it like this: 'I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!' -Dr. Seuss"

If you would like to read Jone's full speech, please click on the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-eXayIEGHUyMU9peGdNMmloM2M/view?usp=sharing