Joan Elizabeth Walters

JOAN ELIZABETH BARNES-WALTERS, was born on February 1, 1949. With her beloved children at her side, she quietly entered into her eternal rest on Sunday, January 1, 2012. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Joan was the second child of the union of the late Nettie-Van and Alex Barnes of the Day Village neighborhood of Turner’s Station, Maryland. As a child, Joan demonstrated her heart of service, as she helped her mother care for her three younger brothers, babysat other neighborhood children, and enjoyed helping out in her community. Joan enjoyed attending the Greater St. John Baptist Church in Turner’s Station with her parents and siblings. At a young age, Joan decided to give her heart and life to Christ. She became an active member of Greater St. John Baptist Church, and served the Lord alongside her parents, serving in various ministries, including Sunday School, Youth Ministry and the Young Choir. She received her education from the Baltimore County Public School System, and graduated from Dundalk High School in 1967. In 1967, Joan began working for the Baltimore Sun Newspaper in the library. In 1991, she became an editorial assistant and served in the role until she suddenly took ill in the summer of 2005. During her tenure at the Sun, she was most proud of volunteering her time with the Reading By Nine Program. She enjoyed being around and helping children, and she was always excited to go spend time with the students she was assigned. She officially retired from the Sun in 2007 after thirty-eight years of faithful service. Joan enjoyed working in the Sun library, as she appreciated the opportunity to increase her knowledge of the world and a variety of subject matters through the reading and research that comprised her duties. However, the thing Joan wanted to know the most about was the Lord. So when her friends joined and started the Greater Refuge Church of God in Christ, Joan supported their ministry efforts, and flourished greatly in her relationship with Christ, serving the Lord and helping others along the way. Although Joan was an active and faithful member of the Usher Board and the choir, she was always eager to cheerfully serve and help her new church home grow in any way that she could. Joan demonstrated her faithful to Christ and her church family by cheerfully serving her pastor, the late Rev. Earnest Nelson and her church family. She routinely demonstrated the unconditional love of Christ by serving her pastor, church family and community by cooking, helping with transportation, or visiting the sick and shut in with a warm smile and a gentle spirit. Joan loved the Lord and sought to have a strong relationship with Him. During her service to the Lord at Greater Refuge, Joan met and fell in love with Charles McFliggins. The couple married in 1971, and to this union was born a daughter, Maia Bianca. Although the couple divorced, Joan focused on being the best mother possible and gave more attention to her daughter and her hobbies. She was a consistently involved mother in Maia’s school activities, routinely attending PTA meetings, serving as a chaperone on class field trips, and encouraging Maia in her Girl Scouts activities. Joan loved art and was blessed with a wonderful drawing and artistic ability. As a child, she entered a magazine art contest. Her submission was so impressive that the art school that sponsored the contest, sent representatives to her home. They wanted to enroll Joan in a boarding school and have her train with master artist, but Mr. Barnes, being a very loving and protective father, decided to keep Joan at home. Joan, however, never gave up on her dreams of being an artist and architect. So when Maia started school, Joan decided to go to school as well, and work on her dreams. She enjoyed cooking, sewing, gardening with her parents and being involved in her community. She participated in the neighborhood improvement association, while she lived in Essex, Maryland and in organizations like the NAACP. Joan loved to help and spend time with her neighbors, but she sought to sharpen her understanding of the Word and to direct her Christian service the most, which lead her to take classes at the Maryland Bible College. When her mother’s health began to fail, and given the responsibilities of single-motherhood, Joan put aside her studies to take care of her family. Not long after her parents’ passing, Joan found love again, which brought to her son, William Joseph (Joey), who was born in 1986. Joan was excited about her little boy and enjoyed spending time with him. With the birth of Joey came a whole new set of activities that Joan fully embraced. She was totally devoted to helping him pursue his athletic abilities and enrolled him in youth football. Joan had always been a casual sports fan, but her love and appreciation for them grew as she supported and encouraged Joey. Her special activity with him was attending movies. In 1995, she married the late George W. Walters. They were married until his death in 2004. being married again stirred a desire in Joan to fellowship and share in worship with her family again, as she had during her upbringing. In 1999, Joan joined the New Psalmist Baptist Church where her sister, children, and other family were members. Joan had a deep respect and appreciation for the preaching and teaching of Bishop Walter Scott Thomas. Eventhough her health problems forced her to spend much time in the hospital over the last several years, she stayed dedicated to reaping all she could and learning about the goodness of the Lord from Bishop Thomas, as she faithfully turned into the church broadcast. After she had lost her husband, and had ensured her children were well-educated, Joan again reached for her artistic dreams. She started the home-based instruction courses offered by the Art Instruction School in the Fall of 2004. Despite failing health she continued to work at her artistic skill with encouragement from Miss Margo Harvey, a young artist she admired. Joan loved the arts. She was a supporter of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and enjoyed the BSO’s Soulful Symphony. Joan faithfully attended and supported the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert. Her favorite symphony was George Duke’s “Muir Woods Suite.” She enjoyed attending plays, concerts, and visiting museums. Her favorite architect was Frank Lloyd Wright and she loved his falling Water building design. She admired his works, which inspired her to keep pursuing her dream. She loved politics and would regularly send holiday cards and letters of encouragement to the White House. To her surprise, one of her cards caught the attention of former President Bill Clinton, who responded to Joan with a Letter of thanks. Weeks prior to her death, Joan had made one of her regular contributions to the political campaigns she supported, ensuring her voice would be heard in the 2012 elections. Joan was a smart, witty, generous, peaceable and gentle woman. Her sweet spirit will be deeply missed. Joan was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Alexander. She leaves to cherish her memory: her devoted daughter, Maia B. McFliggins; her dear son William “Joey” Wilson; a sister, Mrs. Dorothy DeShazo (Vernell); two brothers, Melvin and Stanley (Sabrina) Barnes; the great-nephews she adored, Melvin L.(Jr.) and Larry Barnes; her dear and lifelong friends, Doris Carberry and faith Whitman; beloved neighbor. Mrs. Della Williams; three nieces, two nephews, and a host of other relatives and friends.

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Joan Elizabeth Walters

February 1, 1949 - January 1, 2012