On Sunday, April 22, 2018, at Edgemere in Dallas, Texas, we said goodbye to a brilliant, artistic woman whose joie de vivre and sense of humor brought so much happiness to those who shared their lives with her. Her many talents led her to be an English professor, an artist, a wonderful gardener, a superb cook, and a popular needlepoint designer.
Joan was born on June 30, 1938, in Birmingham, Alabama, to John Elliott Durstine and Reba Marie Towel. The family lived in Birmingham for over forty years, and Joan attended Shades Valley High School. Joan continued her education at Duke University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa and a fun-loving Pi Beta Phi. After receiving her B.A. in English from Duke, Joan continued her education at Indiana University, Bloomington, skipping her Masters and moving directly to her PhD. with a thesis on William Blake’s Theory of Art and Its Application to His Poetry.
In 1965, the jalapenos she tasted for the first time during a lunch interview for an English teaching position at SMU convinced Joan to move to Dallas. She always loved h0t spices! By 1969, she had met and married Jim Gantt, and for the next 37 years, they traveled, cooked, and gardened together--and he was her partner in Heritage Designs, Joan’s needlepoint company. From the mid 1970’s to the early 1980’s, they traveled to trade shows throughout the U.S. and spent evenings preparing her needlepoint kits (Lexington Lace, Richelieo Ribbons, Poinsettia Patterns, Westminster Work, etc.) for shipping.
Joan was beloved by her students, in university classes and needlepoint workshops, for her careful instruction, brilliant designs, and wry insights into the complex workings of love, poetry, and the good, tight knot. She was a believer, and she passed on her certainty about the richness and rewards of trying again to her students and friends. She liked to quote William Blake: “If the Sun and Moon would doubt, They'd immediately go out."
She studied watercolor with Dallas artists Electra Malone and Michael Borne, and her sparkling landscapes of bridges, lakes, and parks near her Highland Park home and her vibrant still life studies of her winning floral arrangements can be found in many private collections. She took delight in wet paper and fresh paint, every shade of green and blue, her faithful golden retriever Frisky, and heaps of hot sauerkraut at a favorite deli.
In addition, to her memberships in Pi Phi and various needlepoint and watercolor societies, Joan was a founding member of the Gardeneers Garden Club, a strong supporter of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and a docent at the Dallas Museum of Art for many years.
Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. James Raiford Gantt, and is survived by her brother, John Warren Durstine, of Novi, Michigan, and her niece by marriage, Barbara Ann Burnett, of Dallas.
A graveside service for Joan will be held on Friday, April 27, 12:00 noon, at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 West Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas.
Joan was born on June 30, 1938, in Birmingham, Alabama, to John Elliott Durstine and Reba Marie Towel. The family lived in Birmingham for over forty years, and Joan attended Shades Valley High School. Joan continued her education at Duke University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa and a fun-loving Pi Beta Phi. After receiving her B.A. in English from Duke, Joan continued her education at Indiana University, Bloomington, skipping her Masters and moving directly to her PhD. with a thesis on William Blake’s Theory of Art and Its Application to His Poetry.
In 1965, the jalapenos she tasted for the first time during a lunch interview for an English teaching position at SMU convinced Joan to move to Dallas. She always loved h0t spices! By 1969, she had met and married Jim Gantt, and for the next 37 years, they traveled, cooked, and gardened together--and he was her partner in Heritage Designs, Joan’s needlepoint company. From the mid 1970’s to the early 1980’s, they traveled to trade shows throughout the U.S. and spent evenings preparing her needlepoint kits (Lexington Lace, Richelieo Ribbons, Poinsettia Patterns, Westminster Work, etc.) for shipping.
Joan was beloved by her students, in university classes and needlepoint workshops, for her careful instruction, brilliant designs, and wry insights into the complex workings of love, poetry, and the good, tight knot. She was a believer, and she passed on her certainty about the richness and rewards of trying again to her students and friends. She liked to quote William Blake: “If the Sun and Moon would doubt, They'd immediately go out."
She studied watercolor with Dallas artists Electra Malone and Michael Borne, and her sparkling landscapes of bridges, lakes, and parks near her Highland Park home and her vibrant still life studies of her winning floral arrangements can be found in many private collections. She took delight in wet paper and fresh paint, every shade of green and blue, her faithful golden retriever Frisky, and heaps of hot sauerkraut at a favorite deli.
In addition, to her memberships in Pi Phi and various needlepoint and watercolor societies, Joan was a founding member of the Gardeneers Garden Club, a strong supporter of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and a docent at the Dallas Museum of Art for many years.
Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. James Raiford Gantt, and is survived by her brother, John Warren Durstine, of Novi, Michigan, and her niece by marriage, Barbara Ann Burnett, of Dallas.
A graveside service for Joan will be held on Friday, April 27, 12:00 noon, at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 West Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas.
On Sunday, April 22, 2018, at Edgemere in Dallas, Texas, we said goodbye to a brilliant, artistic woman whose joie de vivre and sense of humor brought so much happiness to those who shared their lives with her. Her many talents led her to be an English professor, an artist, a wonderful gardener, a superb cook, and a popular needlepoint designer.
Joan was born on June 30, 1938, in Birmingham, Alabama, to John Elliott Durstine and Reba Marie Towel. The family lived in Birmingham for over forty years, and Joan attended Shades Valley High School. Joan continued her education at Duke University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa and a fun-loving Pi Beta Phi. After receiving her B.A. in English from Duke, Joan continued her education at Indiana University, Bloomington, skipping her Masters and moving directly to her PhD. with a thesis on William Blake’s Theory of Art and Its Application to His Poetry.
In 1965, the jalapenos she tasted for the first time during a lunch interview for an English teaching position at SMU convinced Joan to move to Dallas. She always loved h0t spices! By 1969, she had met and married Jim Gantt, and for the next 37 years, they traveled, cooked, and gardened together--and he was her partner in Heritage Designs, Joan’s needlepoint company. From the mid 1970’s to the early 1980’s, they traveled to trade shows throughout the U.S. and spent evenings preparing her needlepoint kits (Lexington Lace, Richelieo Ribbons, Poinsettia Patterns, Westminster Work, etc.) for shipping.
Joan was beloved by her students, in university classes and needlepoint workshops, for her careful instruction, brilliant designs, and wry insights into the complex workings of love, poetry, and the good, tight knot. She was a believer, and she passed on her certainty about the richness and rewards of trying again to her students and friends. She liked to quote William Blake: “If the Sun and Moon would doubt, They'd immediately go out."
She studied watercolor with Dallas artists Electra Malone and Michael Borne, and her sparkling landscapes of bridges, lakes, and parks near her Highland Park home and her vibrant still life studies of her winning floral arrangements can be found in many private collections. She took delight in wet paper and fresh paint, every shade of green and blue, her faithful golden retriever Frisky, and heaps of hot sauerkraut at a favorite deli.
In addition, to her memberships in Pi Phi and various needlepoint and watercolor societies, Joan was a founding member of the Gardeneers Garden Club, a strong supporter of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and a docent at the Dallas Museum of Art for many years.
Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. James Raiford Gantt, and is survived by her brother, John Warren Durstine, of Novi, Michigan, and her niece by marriage, Barbara Ann Burnett, of Dallas.
A graveside service for Joan will be held on Friday, April 27, 12:00 noon, at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 West Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas.
Joan was born on June 30, 1938, in Birmingham, Alabama, to John Elliott Durstine and Reba Marie Towel. The family lived in Birmingham for over forty years, and Joan attended Shades Valley High School. Joan continued her education at Duke University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa and a fun-loving Pi Beta Phi. After receiving her B.A. in English from Duke, Joan continued her education at Indiana University, Bloomington, skipping her Masters and moving directly to her PhD. with a thesis on William Blake’s Theory of Art and Its Application to His Poetry.
In 1965, the jalapenos she tasted for the first time during a lunch interview for an English teaching position at SMU convinced Joan to move to Dallas. She always loved h0t spices! By 1969, she had met and married Jim Gantt, and for the next 37 years, they traveled, cooked, and gardened together--and he was her partner in Heritage Designs, Joan’s needlepoint company. From the mid 1970’s to the early 1980’s, they traveled to trade shows throughout the U.S. and spent evenings preparing her needlepoint kits (Lexington Lace, Richelieo Ribbons, Poinsettia Patterns, Westminster Work, etc.) for shipping.
Joan was beloved by her students, in university classes and needlepoint workshops, for her careful instruction, brilliant designs, and wry insights into the complex workings of love, poetry, and the good, tight knot. She was a believer, and she passed on her certainty about the richness and rewards of trying again to her students and friends. She liked to quote William Blake: “If the Sun and Moon would doubt, They'd immediately go out."
She studied watercolor with Dallas artists Electra Malone and Michael Borne, and her sparkling landscapes of bridges, lakes, and parks near her Highland Park home and her vibrant still life studies of her winning floral arrangements can be found in many private collections. She took delight in wet paper and fresh paint, every shade of green and blue, her faithful golden retriever Frisky, and heaps of hot sauerkraut at a favorite deli.
In addition, to her memberships in Pi Phi and various needlepoint and watercolor societies, Joan was a founding member of the Gardeneers Garden Club, a strong supporter of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and a docent at the Dallas Museum of Art for many years.
Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. James Raiford Gantt, and is survived by her brother, John Warren Durstine, of Novi, Michigan, and her niece by marriage, Barbara Ann Burnett, of Dallas.
A graveside service for Joan will be held on Friday, April 27, 12:00 noon, at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 West Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas.
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