Joan Elaine McElhanon Kirk, fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church, died on May 1, 2023, in Springfield, IL at the age of 76. She was born on December 2, 1946, in Springfield, IL to Alva Edward and Bertha Belle Bushkill McElhanon. After graduation from Feitshans High School, she began her career with the U.S. Federal Government.  After retirement, she moved from St. Louis, MO to Florida. She is currently living in Adamsville, TN. She was proceeded in death by her father, mother, and stepmother Geraldine McElhanon Pitchford and is survived by her daughter Sheila O’Bryen (Joe Bartletti) of Springfield, IL, stepbrother Gerald (Evelyn) Grigg of Springfield, IL and companion Lowell Hatfield of Adamsville, TN. Memorials can be made to St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital in Memphis, TN.