Joan Mae Wilhelm

Joan Mae Wilhelm, 91, of Bryn Mawr, PA, Ocean City, NJ, formally of Vail, CO, and Vero Beach, FL, passed away surrounded by family on July 22, 2023.

Born May 20, 1932 in Elmira, NY, she was the daughter of the late Robert and Margaret (nee Engle) Murry. Joan was a graduate of Lansdowne High School during which she met Ted on a blind date. Soon after graduation, Joan began her modeling career. Joan and Ted married on April 18, 1953 and went on to build a beautiful life together raising Patricia, Cheryl, and Kim in Bryn Mawr, PA, and spent summers in Ocean City, NJ. She was very creative and spent the school years making costumes and displays for plays and holidays and volunteering for the school fairs at the candy and basketball booths. She was always thinking of ways to have fun: night golf, a back yard zip line, turning the back patio into a skating rink, sledding parties, volleyball matches at the shore, ski boot races, to even turning up at your prom. Joan loved to entertain! There was never a dull moment. 

Over the course of her life, Joan was a skilled tennis player and golfer at Overbrook Golf Club. She was also an avid skier, a passion she passed on to her family and friends through annual ski trips to Vail, Colorado, the Main Line ski club, and her own ski club to the Poconos. It didn’t matter where or when; Joan was just happy to be on the slopes. Joan even got her ski patrol certification and volunteered locally at Blue Mountain. She also had a love of travel, going on exciting excursions around the world. Notable trips include a safari in Africa and skiing in the Swiss Alps. This passion even inspired Joan and Ted to host guests from other countries via the Center for International Visitors. Joan continued her philanthropy donating her time to numerous worthy causes, including the YMCA and fundraising for the Bryn Mawr Hospital at the Devon Horse Show.

Joan was a beautiful soul who loved everyone and her smile lit up any room she walked into.  She was a stranger to no one and cared deeply for the people around her. She wanted all to have the love she had and was always asking about your love life. She was passionate and kind and had a positive impact on many lives. She will be forever missed.

Joan was the beloved wife of 70 years of Theodore “Ted” Wilhelm; loving mother of Patricia Kaynaroglu (Hakan), Cheryl Kowba (John), and Kim McKeon; adoring grandmother of Kyra Stephenson (Scott), Chris Hawn (Erin), Jason Hawn (Julie), Bryan Hawn (Danica), Kendal McKeon, and Shane McKeon; and proud great-grandmother of Garrett Hawn-Pangrazio, Emmalynn Francis, Brendan Stephenson, Olivia Carcich, Charlotte Joan Hawn, Ben Locke, Max Locke, Carter Hawn, and Colin Hawn.

In Joan’s spirit, please don your colorful best, brightest lips, and en vogue hat and join her family for a Visitation 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, followed by her Memorial service at 4PM. Friday, July 28, 2023, at The Donohue Funeral Home,  3300 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square, PA 19073.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Penn Vet Working Dog Center, 3401 Grays Ferry Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19146. https://giving.apps.upenn.edu/fund?program=VT2&fund=602320