Born in Detroit Michigan, Joan developed diabetes at age 2, but it didn’t stop her from living a full life.  She grew up in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, married Mike Senyk, and eventually completed two degrees in Chemistry.  They had two children, Kim and Bill.  As an Air Force family they lived in several places in the states.  Joan taught chemistry at the high school and college levels for 18 years, during which time she was lead author of a Houghton Mifflin college freshman chemistry study guide.  She began intensive insulin therapy at age 50 which enabled better control of the diabetes.  Divorced the next year she answered the call into Christian ministry and completed the 4-year student-pastor program at Wesley Theological Seminary, in Washington DC.  She was the pastor of Woodbury, St John’s of Baltimore City and Govans-Boundary United Methodist churches in Baltimore, Maryland, over ten years.  

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     Retiring from full-time ministry in 2000 she followed her daughter’s family to Katy, Texas.  There she worked as part-time Minister with Senior Adults at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church, during which time she tutored chemistry students.  She retired from ministry early in 2007 and worked as a high school chemistry tutor. She retired completely and moved to Hesperia, California, in the fall of 2011 to live near her younger sister, Carolyn.  She served as support pastor at Hesperia United Methodist Church for 10 years and did volunteer chemistry tutoring two mornings a week at Victor Valley Community College.  At age 76 she began tutoring chemistry students 8 hours a week on-line with The Princeton Review and worked with local and on-line students with the Wyzant tutoring service, continuing her volunteer tutoring at the college.   Joan retired completely in March of 2021 and spent her remaining years in her personal prayer ministry, completing needle work projects and attempting the L A Times crossword puzzles.  Although she never smoked, she went through proton radiation for lung cancer in 2019 and 2022.

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     Joan lived life as a glorious adventure.  Blessed with a wonderful family, friends, doctors and experiences, she grew and enjoyed what life offered her.  She played piano, and took ballet as an adult.  Her travels included a two-month History of Chemistry study tour in England, Europe and northwest Russia; a month of studying The Bible in Its Setting, in Israel and Sinai; an 11-day study of The Art and Spirituality of Italy; and two weeks in Greece walking in the footsteps of St. Paul.  

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     Joan is survived by her children Kimberly E. Dungan (Jeffrey) and William M. Senyk: her grandchildren Kelly (Kelly), Aja, Lucas, Savannah (John), Tina, and Justin (Britaney); and her great-grandchildren Coewyn, Carrigan, Ashton, Kylie, Jezreal, Daniel, Landon, Izaak, Jeremiah, James, Kaiden and Aubriana. She is also survived by her sister Carolyn, her niece Julie (George), her nephew Ed (Doris), and her nephew Lewis (Rikki).