Joanne Ferrence Pedersen Arntsen, 87, was born on July 27, 1935, and passed peacefully on July 26, 2023, in her home in West Milford, New Jersey.
Joanne received her training in music education from the Crane School of Music at the State University of NY at Potsdam. After graduation, Joanne married Calvin Pedersen and began her teaching career as an elementary music teacher in New York. She later transitioned to teaching high school music at Berlin Central School in NY for 20 years, where she was also Department Chair of the Arts program.
After the death of her first husband in 1986, Joanne remarried and moved to Wilmington, NC. In retirement, Joanne’s love of quilting became a priority in her life. Her interest in judging began when she became a member of Quilters by the Sea guild, where she worked on the judging committee for a number of years. Joanne was Certified by the National Quilting Association as a quilt judge in 1998 and a Master Quilt Judge in 2000.
Joanne loved to entertain and travel, both domestically and abroad, but more than anything else, she loved her family and always put them first in her life. She is preceded in death by her first husband, Calvin Pedersen (d. 1986) of Hoosick Falls, NY, and her second husband, Roy Arntsen (d. 2013) of Wilmington, NC. Joanne is survived by children of her first marriage, Lisa Pedersen Staszak (Ted) and Heide Pedersen LaPorte (Ron), and step-children of her second marriage, Leonne Arntsen Harris (Robert), Debra Arntsen Castleberry (Dale), and Barbara Arntsen. She is also survived by several grandchildren and great grandchildren from both marriages.
A brief graveside service will be held in Maple Grove Cemetery in Hoosick Falls, NY, on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at 11:00 a.m., where Joanne’s remains will be buried next to her first husband, Calvin Pedersen.
Joanne received her training in music education from the Crane School of Music at the State University of NY at Potsdam. After graduation, Joanne married Calvin Pedersen and began her teaching career as an elementary music teacher in New York. She later transitioned to teaching high school music at Berlin Central School in NY for 20 years, where she was also Department Chair of the Arts program.
After the death of her first husband in 1986, Joanne remarried and moved to Wilmington, NC. In retirement, Joanne’s love of quilting became a priority in her life. Her interest in judging began when she became a member of Quilters by the Sea guild, where she worked on the judging committee for a number of years. Joanne was Certified by the National Quilting Association as a quilt judge in 1998 and a Master Quilt Judge in 2000.
Joanne loved to entertain and travel, both domestically and abroad, but more than anything else, she loved her family and always put them first in her life. She is preceded in death by her first husband, Calvin Pedersen (d. 1986) of Hoosick Falls, NY, and her second husband, Roy Arntsen (d. 2013) of Wilmington, NC. Joanne is survived by children of her first marriage, Lisa Pedersen Staszak (Ted) and Heide Pedersen LaPorte (Ron), and step-children of her second marriage, Leonne Arntsen Harris (Robert), Debra Arntsen Castleberry (Dale), and Barbara Arntsen. She is also survived by several grandchildren and great grandchildren from both marriages.
A brief graveside service will be held in Maple Grove Cemetery in Hoosick Falls, NY, on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at 11:00 a.m., where Joanne’s remains will be buried next to her first husband, Calvin Pedersen.