Joan Wood Barton Gover

After a long life on her own terms, Joan Gover died in Lewisburg, PA on March 30, 2026, surrounded by family.

Joan was born and grew up in Kenmore, NY, second child of Hamilton and Ruth Barton (née Wood). She was trained as an elementary teacher at SUNY-Geneseo in NY. Upon graduation she ventured to Oahu, HI to teach at the Barbers Point Elementary School. Among the pilots at the adjacent naval air base, she car-sat for during deployment was the young Arthur Gover. After their courtship and following marriage, he was assigned to the Willow Grove Naval Air Station near his childhood home in southeastern PA. While at Willow Grove their first two children, Arthur (Jr.) and Jennifer were born. In the following years they relocated to Naval Air Stations in Pensacola, FL; Lakehurst, NJ; and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In Cuba their youngest Patricia was born. After his medical discharge from the Navy, Art and Joan returned to PA while they found and built a place of their own. Joan returned to teaching fifth and sixth grade at Willow Dale Elementary in Warminster. Finding their southeast PA life not everything they wanted, they bought a dairy farm in Bradford County, and the family learned to tend a herd of Holsteins during a time of high interest rates, low milk prices, and brucellosis. After 10 years of hard work, they decided to sell the cows and equipment and settled in Mifflinburg. Joan started at the Lewisburg Hotel as a sous chef and the Mifflinburg American Legion as a part-time cook. Enjoying this new challenge, she started taking classes at the Williamsport Area Community College in institutional and restaurant management.

Despite grieving the sudden death or her husband, Joan took another leap—moving to Las Vegas, NV to complete a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management at UNLV. She worked for the food service department at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX for a time, eventually returning her roots in Kenmore. She operated her ancestral home as a Bed and Breakfast and became a grandmother. As her grandchildren increased and aged, she decided on a change intended to be her final move. She settled in Lewisburg to be near her children and pursued the role of grandmother and active retiree. Her remaining years were spent volunteering with the Lewisburg Library and League of Women Voters and re-engaging her bridge and bowling skills from back in the military days.

Joan is survived by daughter Patricia and husband Leonard Policelli and their sons Nicholas, Joshua (Heather), and Maximillian; and son Arthur and wife Stephanie, and their children Olivia, Evan (Allison), Grace, Stephen, Adrian, and Elinor. She was preceded in death by daughter Jennifer, husband Arthur, and brother James; as well as many feline, canine, and bovine companions over nearly nine decades.

There will be no public services. Joan was generous with many family assistance, veteran, and public media organizations. A suggested remembrance is a donation in Joan’s name to The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.