Joan Shaffer Swee was born July 28, 1924, the daughter of Edward C. Ward and Marie Grossner Ward. She graduated from Lorain High School in the class of1942A and from Bowling Green State Universitywith a degree in Elementary Education. She taught first grade in the old Birmingham School, two years in Garfield School and Hough Avenue School in Cleveland. Her thirty year teaching career ended in Brownhelm Elementary School now called Brownhelm Historical Society. The Second World War ended and Joan married William Shaffer from Bowling Green, Ohio. They moved to a small farm in Florence Township where Bill and Marie were born. Their summers were spent in adventurous travels to National Parks throughout the U.S. and Canada for fifteen years and always tent camping. Joan was active in the American Field Service (AFS) in the Firelands Schools, and the Shaffer family was chosen to host Joseph Siebig from West Germany for a School year. He and his American brother Bill spent their senior year in high school in Firelands. It was a good memorable year. Joan was President of Lorain County Retired Teachers' Association, volunteered at Amherst Hospital, and was active in the Florence Church. At sixty-four years of age her husband passed away. Joan, who loved to travel, continued to travel to Israel, Australia, and Greece, which included a tour of "In the Steps of St. Paul and Alexander the Great". At the age of sixty-four Joan served in the Peace Corps in 1988 and 1989 in Liberia, West Africa. Richard Swee from Portland, Oregon shared the same experiences as both were former teachers. They were there to monitor schools as a result of money provided by the World Bank. There is a saying "Peace Corps is the Toughest Job you will ever love." How true it was. Joan and Richard were married in Amherst, Ohio in 1990. After commuting for two years between Portland, Oregon and Ohio, Joan made the decision to move to beautiful Portland. This turned out to be a new adventure for family and friends who had never been to Oregon before. Volunteering was part of both Joan's and Dick's lives. They did Meals on Wheels, United Way, Oregon History Museum, and the Children's Museum. As Members of Resurrection Lutheran Church there were many Outreach programs, such as taking care of displaced people from refugee camps overseas, and homeless people in Portland. Joan was President of a guild that supported the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. As volunteers Joan and Dick accepted an offer to teach in a Lutheran Divinity School for six months in Sumatra, Indonesia. They were helping students improve their conversational English. Instead of a classroom they had Open Hours six to eight pm. The house would be full of relaxed students sharing class subjects and culture. They reported everyday to the classroom for those who did not come to the house. The semester ended, and they spent the last two weeks on the island of Java in Bali, Joan's favorite place.

Dick was informed of a scholarship available for a student at Concordia College in Portland. The faculty at the Divinity School chose Deonal Sinagce, a twenty year old student who came from a small village in Sumatra and stayed with Joan and Dick for the school year.

Joan always felt so fortunate that she was able to see two exchange students get their Doctor's Degrees and was able to attend both of their weddings. In the last eight years of Dick's life they spent winters in Palm Springs, California, and Arizona. Joan preferred Arizona, and they bought a house in Sun City West but they managed to travel through France, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, and China with Sharon Voss. Her husband and she participated in helping to build a church in Nicaragua, Central America.

At ninety-four years of age Dick passed away. They had been married for twenty-one years. Now it was time for Joan to move back to Ohio to be near her family. These are some of the most memorable moments of her life she remembered. She was most proud of her children's accomplishments. There was a hot air balloon ride over the Red Rocks in Sedona, Arizona with her granddaughter Betsy Shaffer Bailey. There was a 2,500 mile trip from Oregon to Ohio with her daughter, Marie Cole in her red Mustang sports car. There were enjoyable times with her two granddaughters Carrie and Betsy making quilts, dipping candles of all sizes using wax from Joan's bee hives, and making maple syrup with her son Bill from the big maple tree that held the playhouse. Bill and Cheryl's beautiful backyard is where they had barbecues. There was time spent with her granddaughter Gail Cole on weekends while she was attending Oregon State University and following the life of her grandson, Edward, who enlisted in the army after graduating from high school. Ed spent most of his time in Iraq and Afghanistan, came back to the U.S.A., graduated from college and is now working in finance in Cleveland. There were memorable times with Cindy and Richard at their home and cottage on Red Lake.

Joan's interests recently were reading and writing letters to the many friends scattered miles away and following Cleveland's basketball and baseball teams. She is survived by her son Bill Shaffer (Cheryl); Bill's daughter Carrie Jaskiewicz and her children Tim and Melanie; Bill's other daughter Betsy (Chip) Bailey and their daughters Remi, Sammy, and Maggie who live in Olmsted Township, Ohio; her daughter Marie Shaffer Cole: Marie's daughter Gail (Tyler Klarr) Cole of Boise Idaho; Marie's son Edward Cole of Cleveland, Ohio; stepdaughter Cindy (Richard) Skoe of Keliher, Minnesota and their three sons Judd (Lee Ann) Shogren in Bemidji, Minnesota, Jared (Amy) Shogren in Long Lake, Minnesota, Eric Skoe in Fridley, Minnesota; stepson Bradley (Debbie) Swee and his daughter Caitlin Swee in Vancouver, Washington; Richard James Swee in Portland, Oregon; and many step nieces and nephews.

Joan had two cousins who were raised with her, Dorothy Grossner Feldman in Washington D.C. and Margaret Grossner Campbell in Sacramento, California. Both were nurses and are now deceased. Graveside services will be held Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 11:00 at Florence Cemetery on Rt.113 west of Florence in Florence Township. A reception/luncheon will be held at Florence Church, Faith Hall afterward. Memorial donations can be made to Joan's favorite charities, Trinity Lutheran Church of Vermilion, Ohio or Doctors Without Borders.