Joan Caroline Fuller

Joan C. Fuller passed away peacefully in the predawn hours of Good Friday, April 3, 2026, in Fort Collins, CO. Since she was a devout Catholic and perennial gardener, this spring timing of her entrance into new life is all the more meaningful to those who knew her. She is mourned by her son and daughter, John Zehetner and Susan Essex, as well as her son-in-law, Eamon Essex, and three grandchildren, Bridget, Peter, and Patrick. She is also mourned by her dearly loved sisters, Roberta Prince and Peggy Graham, and Peggy’s husband, Roger Graham. She is predeceased by Roberta’s husband, Floyd Prince, niece Christina Prince, and parents, Percy and Ina Caroline Fuller. Their reunification in heaven was a great hope of hers and is a comfort to the family. Joan called Ohio home as a girl in Chillicothe, OSU graduate in Architecture in Columbus, young bride in Dayton, mother in Cincinnati, and retiree in Dayton again. While Ohio was the anchor, new opportunities called her to California, Idaho, and Colorado. Her children will always marvel at the guts it took to pack up two children in a Dodge Omni hatchback and move across the country to start a new life in Boise, Idaho. She then did that again as her children settled in Colorado, starting another new life in Fort Collins. Her love of architecture was evident through her dedication to be the rare female student in her program at OSU and in her early career, as well as simply through the constant presence of a drafting table, mylar sheets, T-squares and triangles in the best-lighted places anywhere she lived. This technical skill was her artistic talent at work. Outside of architecture, she was constantly creative and meticulous in her craft. She upheld the long tradition of expert sewing, knitting, crocheting, beautiful needlepoint, cross-stitch, and embroidery. When she retired from architecture, she worked as an artist in painting and woodcarving that expressed her three loves: geometric forms, flowers, and faith. Her children wish to thank all at Collinwood Assisted Living and Memory Care in Fort Collins who gave her a home and friendship in her final years dealing with the effects of dementia. You gave her patience, dignity, and love, and a peaceful home to the very end of her life. You are a true blessing. A funeral mass and burial will be scheduled for this summer at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Grandview Cemetery, both in Fort Collins.

Tributes

Joan Caroline Fuller

April 22, 1935 - April 3, 2026