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Joan Clarisse Gebhardt died serenely at age 81 at her Pleasant Ridge home surrounded by her family on Saturday, Dec. 13.

Born to Adolf W. and Sigretha Anderson September 23, 1933 in Blaine, Joan was the third of six children. She and Harry Henry Gebhardt, Jr. had known each other just four weeks when they were married in Blaine on July 20, 1954. They made their first home near Harry’s family in Erie, Pennsylvania. In 1960, Joan and her growing family moved to Mount Vernon.

Her love of life, family, community, and her five boys Harry Henry Hart, III, Ronald Duane, William Warren, Eric Jon, and Gregory James filled her days with adventure, purpose, joy, and laughter. She had a special spirit shaped partially because she had to keep up with five power-house boys, who worshiped her and the values she stood for.

Throughout the years, it was not uncommon to find Joan walking the farm roads early each morning. It was on these daily journeys that she deepened her sense of self and commitment to her family, friends, and community. She volunteered at the polls, the Soroptimist International Club, Moose Lodge, the American Cancer Walk-For-Life, and the Washington Children’s Home Society.

Being an avid motorcycle enthusiast, her activities took her and her family on cross-country motorcycle trips, camping trips, and hikes throughout the Northwest and Cascade mountains. She loved nothing more than gathering family around a campfire at her favorite spot along a river in Winthrop. More than 40 years at the same campsite created the legacy that family and friends will continue to enjoy.

A local business woman, Joan employed many people for her Bottom Line Tax and Accounting business in downtown Mount Vernon. Oh, how she loved numbers. For decades she reveled in helping people make sense of numbers, their taxes, and confusing paperwork. She helped contribute to the once vibrant downtown area and was sorely missed when she retired after Harry’s passing in 1998.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 44-years, Harry, and her son, Eric Jon, in 1980, and her sister, Beverly Forbes, in 2013.

She is survived by her sisters, Arlene Anderson, Audrey Block, and Judy Dunster. Her sons, Harry, Ron, Bill, and Greg, will continue their mother’s traditions, commitment to com-munity, and family closeness for years to come. With deep roots in the Skagit Valley, Joan has many cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at Kern Funeral Home Saturday, Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. with a celebration of her magnificent life to follow in the adjacent Social Room. A graveside service will be held later that day in Blaine at the Hillsdale Cemetery at approximately 3 p.m.