Joan Rusen Earley

Published 9:15 pm Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Joan R. Earley passed away in Leesburg on Dec. 19, 2014, at Inova Lansdown Hospital, following a sudden illness.

Earley

Earley

Joan was born on May 27,1928, in Moundsville, W.Va., to Mary Josephine Knight Rusen and John Rusen. Joan lived in Moundsville and then lived with her grandmother, Johanna Hickey Knight, and grandfather, Patrick Knight, in Pittsburgh, Pa., for 13 years. Joan attended school in Moundsville and Pittsburgh. In 1941, the Rusen family moved to Arlington, and Joan attended Washington and Lee High School, graduating in 1945. Joan then entered nursing school at Lakeview Hospital in Suffolk in 1945. Joan married William Jesse Earley, of Suffolk, on Nov. 13, 1948. Upon graduation in 1948, she worked full time at Lakeview Medical Center until retiring in December 1993 with 45 years of service; she then worked an additional eight years PRN with Lakeview Medical Center until 2001, completing 53 years’ service as a nurse.

Joan is preceded in death by her mother and father, Mary Josephine Knight Rusen and John Rusen; her sister Betty Anne Rusen and her husband of 57 years, William Jesse Earley. Joan is survived by her sister, Mary Jacquelyn Hoke, of Clarksville, Md.; her son, William Stephen Earley and wife, Linda S. Earley, of Leesburg; grandsons, William Paul Earley and wife, Kristina L. Earley, of Leesburg, John C. Earley and wife, Catherine Earley, of Whitehouse, Tenn.; great-grandchildren, Kayla M. Earley, William L. Earley, Jacob C. Earley, Nathan S. Earley and Joshua R. Earley; nieces and nephews, Richard Hoke, Donald Hoke, Anne Hoke and Mary Ellen Moir.

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In lieu of flowers, please make donations to one of the following charities: Washington DC Firefighters Burn Foundation, www.dcffburnfoundation.org; Wounded Warriors, www.woundedwarriorproject.org; or Hydrocephalus Association, www.hydroassoc.org.

A viewing will be held at Parr Funeral Home located at 3515 Robs Drive, Suffolk, from 7 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 26. A graveside service will be held at Cedar Hill Cemetery on Dec. 27 at 11 a.m. Condolences may be registered online at www.parrfuneralhome.com.