Joan Katherine Meenan Murphy, aged 85, of Palo Alto, California, entered into eternal rest Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 4:45 PM after several years of declining health.

Joan was born in Chicago Illinois on February 15, 1938, the third child of Cyril Francis Meenan and Violet Colette Walsh. After moving to Lincolnwood, Ill, she attended Queen of All Saints School, and then St. Scholastica Academy in Chicago. As a child, Joan loved to keep active and have fun. She was played a lot of softball with her many neighborhood cousins and friends and became an avid bowler and golfer. Joan was an urban equestrienne as well-- riding and caring for horses at the stables at Lincoln and McCormick before they were paved over to make a shopping center. Joan loved to dance—and she (with her partner, Louie Gasperini) won the Harvest Moon dance competition in 1955, an event televised live from the old Chicago Stadium and included the likes of Zsa Zsa Gabor and Jayne Mansfield. She became a stewardess for Eastern Airlines, and her routes included New York, Washington DC, and Havana Cuba. Joan's best friend, Carole Roscoe (now Carole Adams of Barrington, Ill) set her up with Richard Ennett Murphy (deceased), also of Chicago, and they married on September 7, 1963.  Joan's first child, Suzanne Katherine was born in Chicago in 1964. Joan and Dick (an advertising executive with BBD&O) were then headed West. They lived briefly in Lakewood, Colorado, in Belmont, California, where her son Michael Patrick was born in 1967, and then in Fullerton in Orange County, CA, where they settled. Joan and Richard divorced but remained friends.

Like her father, Joan was always possessed of an entrepreneurial spirit. When married, she started a summer camp, Sun 'N Fun Safari, a venture that enjoyed modest success—and the Pit Helmets left over became ad hoc party favors for years to come. She floated a patent idea on an innovative flea treatment for dogs--- the "De-Flea Suit-ee"—an idea that was clearly ahead of its time (like her sister, Holly's, idea to put suitcases on roller skates in the 1970s). Joan worked hard and became a self-made woman, working as a receptionist and secretary after her divorce, and then as pharmaceutical representative, insurance broker, and large-scale construction security representative. After years of working for State Farm, Joan moved to Palo Alto in1995 to head up the Bay Area branch of CPS construction's office. She retired in 2008 but kept busy as a retreat hostess among other pursuits.

For many years she practiced yoga, swam daily, attended daily Mass, and enjoyed spending time with grandchildren. She possessed a deep spirituality—in Carmelite, Dominican, and Ignatian styles because each had "something beautiful and distinct to offer." As a Third Order Dominican, Joan loved to attend mass at Corpus Christi Monastery, but she also loved to pray at Nativity Catholic Church, both in Menlo Park. She made many retreats at the Jesuit Retreat House in Los Altos, one of which was of the silent, 30-day variety, which still counted even if she sneaked a phone call to her son from the basement once or twice. Joan was an avid reader of theology, mainly St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, and her Catholic faith was central in her life. She loved to discuss the beauty of creation, share the experience of an active interior life, and marvel out loud at the many ways that we are all "wonderfully made" in God's image and likeness. She was a kind of "contemplative in action" as she cherished time spent both in quiet reflection and having robust, laughter filled times with her family and friends (traveling, playing board games, and taking long walks and fun meals) in equal measure.

In Fullerton, she was an an official election inspector and for many years hosted public elections in the garage of her home on Conejo Lane-- an activity in which she and her children participated with civic pride; in Palo Alto, Joan was a regular student in Stanford's adult education programs and a member of many prayer and reading groups. As she aged, Joan loved to reminisce about her childhood growing up in Chicago, listen to music, and watch old movies and dance videos. She always loved to dance with her daughter and grandchildren--and she still holds the high score for Wii bowling, a record she gloated about in an uncharacteristically hubristic way. Joan was a bright light—a true fighter with a loving heart of gold—and she was deeply beloved by family and friends alike for her one-of-a-kind personality and zest for life. We all shall miss her marvelous smile and the warm gaze of her beautiful eyes.

Survivors include her siblings, Holly Boyer of Prospect Heights, Illinois and Kevin Meenan (Anna) of Rockford, Illinois, children Suzanne Katherine (Carsten) Ribbe of Palo Alto, CA, Michael Patrick (Marjie) Murphy of Wilmette Illinois, grandchildren Johanna Sigrid Amalie Ribbe, Eliana Ulrike Grace Ribbe, Joshua Gordon Michael Ribbe, Sebastian Axel Brandon Ribbe, Caroline Ennett Murphy, Jacob Peter Carsten Ribbe, and Elena Seton Murphy. She was predeceased by her brother William Meenan (Mary, of Waukegan, Illinois) and Rosemary Droze (Daniel, of La Plata, Maryland). Rosary and visitation Wednesday, October 18 at Spangler mortuary, Mountain View. Funeral Mass on Thursday October 19 at 11 a.m. at Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park. Burial at Gate of Heaven cemetery to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Carmelite Monastery of Santa Fe.