Joann Weeks has died.
We first knew her as Joann Brannon the art teacher. Then we were thrown in with her as we campaigned for Mildred Greear for State Senate back in 1977. And Joann was part of our effort to save the National Forests (again with Mildred and Phillip Greear) in the eighties and still again for my Quixotic campaign for the Georgia House of Representatives in 1984. Joann and I each served as presidents of the Floyd County Association of Educators and were active together in FCAE as well as the state organization.
After that 1977 campaign, Sheila and I with Joann and another teacher friend, Sue Frazier, joined Mildred for a weekend in the Greears’ rustic cabin in Helen, Georgia. I have some great pictures but they are not digitized. Maybe I can find them and add them later.
We were there in Chattanooga when she and Steve Weeks - the Rome News reporter - got married. Sheila was pregnant with Brannon at the time so it must have been 1983.
I remember a fun night of parlor games with them and LeeAnn and John Tom Selman at the Weeks's house in Armuchee and I think a different night of Rook with them.
For a while Joann and Steve attended our church and our children played together at our house.
A highlight — I wonder what year — was when Joann and Steve invited us, and Sheila forced me to accept the invitation, to accompany them for a fifties and sixties rock-and&roll dancing riverboat evening on the Tennessee River. I am a notoriously incompetent dancer. BUT nobody on that boat knew me except my wife and our two friends and I somehow managed to shed my inhibitions and had an absolute ball! Sheila did not complain of bruised feet.
Sheila and I visited for a few minutes with Steve and Lee at the funeral home last night. It was the first time we've been together in years. We have the sniffles and will avoid spreading germs at the funeral today. I wish I could find digitized photos of some of our experiences with Joann and with Steve. I regret allowing our friendship with this good couple of folks to fade as we have aged and way has led onto way over the last couple of decades. It makes me think of several other once-close friends I'd like to reconnect with; raising kids and pursuing careers and moves and just the vicissitudes of living make maintaining friendships over many decades difficult.
God bless Steve and Lee as they mourn this loss of their wonderful wife and mother.
And may we all find a few moments to reconnect with folks we love but with whom we’ve lost contact.
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Joann Weeks Obituary
She was born March 1, 1938, in Hixson, TN, and grew up in Signal Mountain, TN. Survivors include her husband of 42 years, Steve Weeks, whom she met during a news interview, and a daughter, Lee. Part of a large family, she outlived her parents and siblings, including her twin sister, Joyce. She was also preceded in death by her only grandchild, Adeline.
A long-time art teacher and director with the Floyd County Schools, Joann served as the system's art coordinator and taught at Glenwood Elementary School and Armuchee High School.
A lifelong Baptist, Joann was a member of Pleasant Valley North Baptist Church and later New Armuchee Baptist Church. She was active in Sunday School and senior groups and participated in numerous clubs and community organizations. Known for her warmth and dependability, she once served as president of the Floyd County Association of Educators.
The family would like to give a special thank you to Joann's caregivers, who were like family members.
The family will receive friends on November 25, 2025 from 5pm to 7p.m. at Henderson and Sons Funeral Home, Oaknoll Chapel located at 2542 Shorter Ave, Rome GA. Pastor David Howard will reside over the services on November 26, 2025 at 1pm. Service to be held at Henderson and Sons Funeral Home, Oaknoll Chapel.
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