First Posted: 1/27/2013
Joan (Kern) Thomas, passed away peacefully on Jan. 19, 2013 after a brief illness.
She was the beloved and devoted mother of Kathleen McCaffrey and her husband, Dr. John McCaffrey, Newport, R.I., Diane Thomas, Swoyersville, James Thomas and his wife, Debra, Hunlock Creek, and Steven Thomas and his wife, Helen, Roswell, Ga.
Joan was born Jan. 5, 1936, to the late Irving F. Kern and Hilda (Nopper) Kern in Pittston. She grew up in Wyoming and graduated from Wyoming High School in 1953. She attended Nesbitt School of Nursing 1953 to 1955, before her marriage to the late James S. Thomas, of Forty Fort, in 1955.
Joan and Jim raised their four children in Shavertown, where Joan was active in various functions, such as school, church, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, Little League and sports. She returned to school and graduated from the Wilkes-Barre School of Practical Nursing in 1976. She worked at General Hospital in the ICU from 1976 to 1981 and then for 16 years as a nurse for Surgical Specialists of Plains Township.
During her life she enjoyed spending summers and Christmas holidays in Newport with her family, traveling to Atlanta to visit her son and his family and attending many joyful gatherings with her local family members. She was an avid sports fan, especially football and baseball, and she loved music of all kinds, especially rock ‘n’ roll. She was the loving and cherished grandmother of Joshua and Mark Thomas, Harveys Lake, John, Ryan and Neil McCaffrey, Newport, R.I., Jade Levi, Tunkhannock, and Morgan Elizabeth, Roswell, Ga.
Arrangements were by the Metcalfe-Shaver-Kopcza Funeral Home Inc., 504 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Joan’s name to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675, or to a charity of your choice.