Joan Manning

Joan Manning, 94, of Pampa and formerly of California, passed away on Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Pampa.

No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation and arrangements are under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors and Crematory.

Joan was born December 26, 1930 in San Francisco, California to James and Vera Malloy. After high school, she earned her degree in performing arts from San Jose State University. After college, she lived in Germany for two years where she met and married her first husband and had her first child, Jenny. Joan would return to the United States, and she began her career as an accountant. Later she married her second husband and moved to Van Nuys, California and they had a daughter, Bonnie. Joan eventually moved with her children to San Jose where she joined the Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

Joan loved classical music and operas. She performed in several operas and featured as "Mad Margret" in Ruddigor. Joan wrote many letters to the editor and wrote stories and screenplays. She even had one of her screenplays performed in the local theatre in California. Joan moved several more times on the west coast before she settled in Shasta Lake. When her oldest daughter, Jenny, got sick, she took her into her home to care for her until she passed away. Eventually, Joan was diagnosed with dementia and moved into her daughter’s home, where she lived for a year and a half before needing more support. Her daughter moved her to Texas for more care and to be near her sister in Pampa. Bonnie would make weekly phone calls to Joan to visit and catch up.

Joan was a strong person both physically and mentally. She had the strength of her convictions and stood strong for liberal views and feminist beliefs. She was a hard worker who passed on that trait to her daughters and three granddaughters. She will be missed by her family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and a daughter, Jenny.

Survivors include her daughter, Bonnie Cook and her husband Doug; three granddaughters, Claire, DeAnna, and Katie; and a sister, Vera Roth and husband Alan.