Obituary of Joann G. Adair

On May 10th, 2023 Joann Adair passed away peacefully with her family by her side.

Joann was born on Dec 23, 1945 as the second daughter to Joe and Annie Grimmie and as a sister to Helen Houser Van-Pelt. She grew up in Lindenwold where she attended grade school and high school and was a part of Overbrook high school drill team. Outside of school she enjoyed and excelled in dance.

After high school she worked in various industries and enjoyed going out with her friends after work. As fate would have it, on one of those nights out, she met her future husband, Bud. After dating for 5 months, they were engaged and the wedding date was set. Just weeks before the wedding, they were in a car accident that would leave them both with significant injuries. In what would become a hallmark characteristic of Joann, her perseverance helped her overcome a seemingly insurmountable obstacle and on June 5, 1971, she walked down the aisle on two broken feet holding only her father’s arm to marry the love of her life.

Joann built a full life with Bud and their two daughters, Melissa and Christine in Tabernacle, NJ. She worked in various careers while simultaneously balancing the busy lives of her children and growing friendships that would last her a lifetime.

To friends and family, Joann is known for her quick wit and humor. That wit was frequently a showstopper to the conversation with the delivery of one of her one-liner comebacks. She loved going out to dinner at her favorite restaurants, spending time with family and friends, computer games, reading, shopping at her favorite store Chicos, picking out a good nail color, and if it was 5 o’clock you could always find her with a dirty martini followed by a Malbec. 

The hallmark trait of perseverance that Joann acquired early in life before her wedding would come back to guide her as she battled through five occurrences of lymphoma over the last fourteen years of her life. She fought with humor and class for years as she continued to live her life to the fullest and bring fun and joy to every occasion. That was Joann - fun, stoic and quietly persistent.

She leaves behind her devoted husband Bud, daughters Melissa and Christine that are so proud to call her mom, her son-in-law’s Dino and Gabriel that she adored, her sister Helen, many loving friends and family and countless fun memories that will be cherished. She is preceded in death by her mom and dad, Annie and Joe Grimmie  

Friends and family are welcome to her visitation which will be held on May 16, 2023 from 10:00AM to 12:00PM at the COSTANTINO-PRIMO FUNERAL HOME, 231 W. White Horse Pike, Berlin NJ 08009. 

As a gesture of gratitude to the medical team at The Hospital of University of Penn, and in lieu of flowers, we invite you to donate towards a fund that will be used to recognize and celebrate them for the tremendous care Joann received over the past 14 years. Please click HERE to donate.