Joan Negley Kelleher passed away peacefully at home on December 1, 2021, at the age of 89.
Joan was born in San Antonio, Texas, on October 23, 1932, to Roxana Gage Negley and William Walter Negley. Other than the time she spent at college and when first married, she lived in San Antonio her whole life, and she was a fiercely independent, strong Texan down to her very core.
Joan attended Saint Mary’s Hall from Forms 1 – 12 and graduated from Connecticut College in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. It was while she was at Connecticut College that she met Herb Kelleher on a blind date. She still has the fraternity pin that Herb gave to her when he left Wesleyan University to start law school at NYU. Joan and Herb were married on September 9, 1955, a marriage that lasted for 63 years until Herb’s passing.
After they were married, Joan and Herb lived in New York while Herb finished law school, and they then moved to New Jersey, where their children Julie and Mike were born. In 1961, they returned to San Antonio, finally landing back in Texas where Joan was most at home and which Herb quickly grew to love. Their children Ruth and David arrived after their move. Joan joined the Junior League and then found her true calling with the San Antonio Conservation Society, where she served as President and was active for over 40 years, running the Maria’s Tortillas booth at NIOSA for many years.
Though a San Antonio resident, Joan was happiest when outdoors, with no place more dear to her than the family’s Gage Ranch in West Texas. It was there she spent every summer as a child, riding horses as much as she could, killing flies for a penny each, and listening to the radio at night.
Quiet, reflective times in the outdoors gave Joan a deep understanding of the Saint Mary’s Hall motto, “Teach us delight in simple things.” For Joan, it was the simple things in life that mattered most and helped her live a life that didn’t stress about the future. The simple things she loved most were family, ranching and fishing, as well as the many dogs and other animals she had over the years.
And oh, the fishing! Joan learned to fly fish later in life while at the A Bar A Ranch in Wyoming with her mother and stepfather, Jack Catto, both avid and skillful fishers. Joan soon became a passionate fisher herself, and she and her good friends Marilyn and Jody formed a fishing group they called the Dry Flies. Fishing led Joan to Jackson Hole, where, after acquiring a home there, she could spend as much time in or on a stream as she wanted, often with her favorite guide, Bart. Even well into her 80s, and much to her family’s horror, Joan would hit the road every June to drive from San Antonio to Jackson Hole with only a dog as a companion, stopping along the way at favorite spots such as the Do Drop Inn. Thankfully she allowed family members to come along on the trip later in life, though a bit reluctantly.
Joan’s cousin Rupert Gresham and his friend Jack Locke also introduced her to the Three Forks ranch in Colorado, where her beloved guide Gary helped her bring in beautiful trout, and where she and her family spent so many happy times with Rupert, Jack, and Rupert’s niece Susan Crudgington and her daughter, Maria McElwain. Fishing led Joan not only to beautiful places but also to great friendships with those who shared her passion for the sport. And fishing gave her an excuse to indulge her love for outdoor jackets and hats. One can never have too many of either.
Joan is preceded in death by her husband Herb; her daughter, Julie Stacy; her father, Walter Negley; her mother, Roxana Catto; her stepfather, Jack Catto; her sister, Julie Negley; her brother, Alfred Negley; and her brother-in-law Jim Hayne. She’s survived by her sister, Roxie Hayne, and by her children, Mike Kelleher and his wife Lisa; Ruth Agather and her husband John; and David Kelleher and his wife Kathy, and by her son-in-law, Dennis Stacy. She’s also survived by her beloved grandchildren Kevin Stacy; Jack Agather; Clara Kelleher Ostrander and her husband John; Merrilee Agather; Danny Kelleher; Caroline Kelleher; Michael Kelleher; Maggie Kelleher, and Mollie Kelleher. Happy trails, dear Mamoo.
The family wishes to thank those who cared for Joan during the last year and a half of her life, especially David “D.J.” Medellin; Mark Thornton; Rosa Hernandez; and Brenda Jaye and the many wonderful caregivers with Personal Care Management, including Terry, Maria, Liza Lin, and Angelica.
Joan’s service will be live streamed and you may access the link at www.cecsa.org
Interment will be private for family at Mission Burial Park South. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Saint Mary’s Hall, the Jackson Hole Land Trust, the San Antonio Conservation Society, or a charity of your choice.
Published by Porter Loring Mortuary North on Dec. 4, 2021.
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