Joan Lorraine "Jole" Birdsell

December 21, 1934 - August 16, 2016

Joan Lorraine "Jole" Birdsell Obituary (Age 81) Joan "Jole" Lorraine Birdsell peacefully entered into rest on August 16, 2016, surrounded by her family, including her cherished little dog, Lola. Jole was born in Carson City, NV on December 21, 1934 to John W. and Edith M. Gordanier. Jole is survived by her husband, Albert; daughter, Jole Suzanne; son, Alan; son-in-law, George; and brother, Charles. Jole attended Washington State University, transferring to Eastern Washington State College. It was there she met and married Albert. She graduated from EWSC in 1962 with her Bachelor of Arts in Education, minoring in Art. Jole possessed an extraordinary creative and artistic vision, which she passed on to her children. She loved to work in any medium be it painting, drawing, sculpting, anything she could get her hands on. Mosaics, however were her favorite. She could create a mosaic out of anything. She was a voracious reader, having read thousands of books in her life. Her interests were many and varied but her biggest passion in life, besides her family, was horses. She loved all things horse from riding and showing, to professionally judging. She was an accomplished equestrian, having won many awards over her life. She was a lifelong participant in many equestrian organizations including Washington State Horsemen, Northeast Zone of WSH and United Stated Equestrian Federation. Her past memberships included Inland Empire Arabian Horse Association, Palouse Empire Appaloosa Club. Jole also enjoyed obedience training dogs. She was a member of Lilac City Dog Training Club and participated in the Spokane Lilac Parade as part of the Doberman Drill Team. Jole even trained and served, briefly, as a volunteer firefighter for SCFD#3. Jole was also a long time member of the Marshall Cemetery Association. Known and beloved by many she will be very much missed. A memorial service for Jole will be held on Monday, August 22nd at 11am at Heritage Funeral Home.