Joan King Upshaw, 81, loving mother and social work entrepreneur, passed away Monday, June 7, 2010, at Providence Medical Center, surrounded by family members. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 11, 2010 at McGilley & Frye Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at First Christian Church, 200 E. Loula, Olathe. Following the service a private burial will take place later that afternoon in Olathe Memorial Cemetery. Immediately following the service, friends are welcome to a celebration of Joan’s life that will take place at the family home.

Joan was born February 26, 1929, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Pierre Esto King and Kathryne Farmer King. She was preceded in her death, by her parents and her sister, Mary Jo Lyons. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Oda C. Upshaw (Sam), and her six children, daughter, Melinda Gay Upshaw, daughter, Melissa Jo Miller, daughter Pierrette King Upshaw (Suzy), daughter, Kimberly Susan Adams and her husband, Mark Adams, son, Christopher King Upshaw, and daughter Marijo J. Upshaw and her husband, Khaldoon Alaswad. She leaves a legacy of six grandchildren, Austin Adams, Ryne Posey, Kathryne Wise, Julian Bailey, Elsa Alaswad, and Jamal Alaswad and two great grandchildren Tristan and Cameron Adams. Joan led a remarkable life.

Her father died when she was seventeen years old. Shortly after, she entered the University of Cincinnati, but had to leave due to health and financial hardships.

She joined Navy in 1949 where she worked as an air traffic controller and met her husband, Oda, who was also serving in the Navy. Joan and Oda married November 2, 1950 at the base chapel in Corpus Christi, Texas. Joan transitioned from naval services to motherhood. After starting her family, she went back to school to study education administration and graduated from Florida Junior College in Jacksonville, Florida with an Associate of Arts Degree in 1968. Joan then moved to Olathe, Kansas upon her husband’s retirement from the Navy. Joan found her lifelong career and passion in social work. She graduated with a BSW in 1971 and a MSW in 1973 from the University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare. Throughout her long social work career, she served many. Early in her career she worked at the Kansas State Social and Rehabilitation Services and the Department of Health, Education & Welfare in Kansas City, Missouri both in the Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Child Development in the Head Start Program. She worked on the Addiction Recovery Unit at Osawatomie State Hospital and at Johnson County Mental Health Center in Emergency Crisis Intervention. In 1974, Joan became the Director of Social Services at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, where she worked for thirteen years building the Social Work Department.

In 1988, Joan founded her own social work company, first known as Joan Upshaw & Associates, a clinical social work agency, which later became Social Work p.r.n. As the Founder and President of Social Work p.r.n., Joan pioneered the field of social work staffing. Her entrepreneurial drive built Social Work p.r.n., a nationwide company based in Overland Park, Kansas.

Joan mentored so many social workers throughout her career. Upon news of Joan’s passing , a social work colleague wrote, “She took me under her wing and helped to teach me so much about the social work profession. I’m thankful to say that she was my mentor and a woman who greatly impacted my life.” Joan’s professional affiliations included being a lifetime member of the National Association of Social Workers and a member of the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care. She also supported the National Democratic Party, the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, the University of Missouri School of Social Work, Jackson State School of Social Work and numerous other programs and causes. Joan was a wonderfully creative person. She loved beautiful things. Among her many passions, she adored design and decorating. She traveled extensively in the United States, and later in life developed a special fondness for both Arizona and Mississippi. She also loved being surrounded by family, friends and colleagues. Joan will be greatly missed, yet we are comforted that her spirit lives on.

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