Joan Kathryn Courville (nee Hoffman) of Farmington Hills, Michigan passed away peacefully on August 18th in her home at the age of 94. She was born in Des Moines, Iowa and later moved to the Detroit Metro area in the 1950s following college graduation.
Beloved wife of the late Frederick (Fred) Louis Courville, for 59 years. They lived in the Rosedale Park area of Detroit before moving to Farmington Hills in the early 1970s.
Joan was a member of the Bushnell Congregational Church in Detroit and then, later Meadowbrook Congregational Church in Novi.
In the early 1960's, Joan was hired as the first Speech & Language Therapist in the Farmington Public School District. She was responsible for establishing policies and practices of the Speech Department and served as Chairperson for several years. As a Speech & Language Therapist, she helped build the self-esteem for many elementary school aged children.
During her tenure, Joan was invited by her peers to become a member of Delta Kappa Gamma International which promotes professional and personal growth of exceptional woman educators.
After her retirement, Joan served as President of the Farmington Area Association of Retired School Personnel for several years and worked tirelessly to support and meet the needs of retired educators. And she continued to tutor children with special needs for many years.
Joan also volunteered with the Birmingham Musicale Outreach Program, Music in Schools which provided monthly music programs to local area schools for children with special needs. She especially enjoyed dressing up as “Frosty the Snowman” during the Christmas programs.
Joan is survived by many nephews, nieces, grandnieces, grandnephews, great grandnephews and great grandnieces.
Visitation will be held at 10am and a memorial service at 11am on Thursday, August 25th at the Thayer-Rock Funeral Home located at 33603 Grand River Avenue, Farmington, Michigan.
Memorial donations in memory of Joan may be made to the Michigan Humane Society.