10/16/1947 – 11/5/2014
Joan Campbell
Joan Ann Campbell passed away peacefully after a 4 ½-year battle with cancer on Nov. 5, 2014, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, surrounded, loved and supported by her family.
Joan was born on Oct. 16, 1947, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a daughter of Angus Campbell, Ph.D., and Jean (Winter) Campbell. She attended the College of Wooster and transferred to the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She later obtained a Master of Arts in counselor education from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts in developmental psychology from the University of Michigan.
In 1978, Joan moved to Arlington, Texas, as a therapist at the Parenting Guidance Center in Fort Worth. She left as assistant executive director to become executive director of the Tarrant Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
On May 28, 1988, Joan married Timothy Avery Williams and moved to Issaquah. She joined Friends of Youth, then in Redmond, in 1989, where she was eventually promoted to president and CEO. She retired from Friends of Youth in 2011, after 22 years of exemplary service to youth. Her legacy is profound, and the positive impact of her commitment in the lives of young people will extend for generations. In addition to her impact on young people and their families served by Friends of Youth, Joan was a valued role model and mentor to countless colleagues and employees.
Joan is survived by her mother Jean Campbell, of Ann Arbor, Michigan; her husband Tim Williams, of Issaquah; her brother Bruce Campbell, of St. George, Utah; her sister Carol (Campbell) Welsch, of Northville, Michigan; her husband’s daughters Jennifer Williams and Emily Williams, of Atlanta; nieces Kirsten (Campbell) McCullough and Holly Williams; nephews Rob Campbell, Ian Welsch and Michael Williams; and grandchildren Nicole James and DeMarco Stephens.
In the words of American poet Maya Angelou, “…people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” No-one exemplified those words more than Joan Campbell.
A celebration of her life will take place at Seattle First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave., Seattle, WA 98122, at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015.
In lieu of flowers, Joan and her family request donations be made to Friends of Youth, now in Kirkland (www.friendsofyouth.org); the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan (www.cew.umich.edu); or the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research in Seattle (www.marsharivkin.org).