Joan Brown

Mary Joan (Diehl) Brown, 90, passed away peacefully on May 17, 2026, in Hilliard, Ohio. Born to two schoolteachers, Coleman and Olive Diehl on February 11, 1936, in Chesterhill, Ohio, Joan grew up in this small town and graduated from Marion Local High School in 1953 at the age of 17. She attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where she met Charles Brown, “Charlie” the original Charlie Brown, and the love of her life, when they were freshmen. By taking classes in the summers, Joan completed her undergraduate degree in zoology in three years and graduated in 1956. She continued her education and training as a physical therapist at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Upon completion of the two-year program, she married Charles Brown on August 23, 1958. Joan worked as a physical therapist in Peoria, IL, as her new husband took classes to obtain his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at Bradley University.

Joan was proud of her work as a physical therapist and enjoyed helping people become more mobile. She and her husband raised two daughters as she continued working as a physical therapist for public home health, local hospitals, and a private facility for children and adults with disabilities. She was an excellent physical therapist, and her work was very important to her.

Joan’s passion throughout her life was volunteering in the communities she lived in. She mentored many young girls as a Brownie and Girl Scout leader as her own girls were growing up. She volunteered in numerous roles in the United Methodist Church, traveled twice with a local eye doctor to treat people in Ecuador, and was an active member in the local Lions International Club of Sunsites, Arizona. She and her husband, Charles, were instrumental in rallying support and raising the funds to establish the Sunsites Community Center and Evelyn Williams Park in the Sunsites community. Joan had a tremendous heart for volunteering in all the communities that they lived in, both in Ohio and Arizona.

Joan and Charlie lived in Arizona, south of Phoenix in the small town of Stanfield, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Tuba City, and in Sunsites for a total of almost 40 years. They enjoyed seeing all the sites and natural wonders of the American southwest, Alaska, and Hawaii with some of their dearest friends. They had the opportunity to visit the Soviet Union in the early 1970s on an educational trip and travel to Taiwan with Lions International. They enjoyed all the opportunities that life presented to them on their travels and in their local communities.

Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Brown; parents, Coleman and Olive Diehl; sisters, Rosa Talbott and Nina Smith; and brother, Conrad Diehl. She is survived by her sister, Rita (Tom) Thatcher; daughters, Denise (Larry) Buergel and Beth Brown; grandsons, Nathan (Melanie) Buergel, Daniel (Isabelle) Buergel, and Joshua (Carlie) Buergel; great granddaughters, Hannah Buergel and soon to be born Emma Buergel; many nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours to receive friends and family will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 5:00-7:00 PM, and Thursday, May 28, 1:00-2:30 PM, followed by a Celebration of Life service at 2:30 PM at the Tidd Family Funeral Home, 5265 Norwich Street, Hilliard, Ohio. Interment will be at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery on June 1 at 12:15 PM in Rittman, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joan’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association at donorservices.alz.org or sent to 5200 Upper Metro Pl #170, Dublin, Ohio 43017. Donations can also be made in her memory to Capital City Hospice at capitalcityhospice.com/donate or mailed to 2800 Corporate Exchange Dr. Suite 170, Columbus, Ohio 43231.