Joan Hickey Kinzel, 96

Joan Hickey Kinzel, 96, passed away on Jan. 8, 2023, at Maryville Nursing Home with her family at her side.

Joan was born on Nov. 23, 1926, in Portland, Oregon. She was the third of three children born to James S. and Anne (Boutin) Hickey. She was raised in Portland and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1944. She told stories of summers spent swimming at Reed College and riding on roller skates down the hills of her Eastmorland neighborhood.

Joan attended the University of Oregon where she studied journalism and history and served as editor of the school yearbook. She was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1948. After college graduation she moved to San Francisco with several college friends and worked at Dow Chemical as a bookkeeper. In 1957, Joan met her future husband, Stephen Kinzel through mutual friends. They were married on Feb. 15, 1958, and made their home together in LaGrande, Oregon where they started their family. Following the death of Stephen in 1979, Joan returned to the Portland area, which she always considered her home.

She enjoyed spending time in the outdoors whether hiking, golfing or snow skiing in her younger years. She enjoyed listening to classical music, playing bridge and taking trips to Hawaii or to the family cabin at Wallowa Lake, Oregon. After her return to Portland in 1981 she served as a docent at the Portland Art Museum and enjoyed traveling to Greece, Turkey, Scandinavia and Japan.

Joan is preceded in death by her husband; Stephen J. Kinzel; her parents, James S. and Anne Hickey; siblings, James S. Hickey Jr and Louise Hamilton; and four nephews.

She is survived by her two children and their spouses: Charles and Dawn Kinzel of Portland, Helen and Neil Hammer of Kalispell; four grandchildren: Kellie Kinzel, Benjamin (Catherine) Kinzel, Justin Hammer, Nathan Hammer; one great-grandchild Genevieve Kinzel; and six nieces.

Funeral mass will be Monday at 11 a.m. on Jan. 30 at St. Pius X Church in Portland with a reception luncheon immediately following. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at Hillcrest Cemetery, LaGrande Oregon.

Memorial donations may be made to Benedictine Foundation of Oregon – Benedictine Sisters of Mount Angel, Mount Angel, Oregon or St. Francis of Assisi Dining Hall, Portland Oregon.