Joan Hope Glass

Joan Hope Glass January 17, 1939 - December 1, 2021 State College, Pennsylvania – Joan H. Glass 82 of State College, passed away peacefully at her home in Las Cruces NM on Wednesday December 1. She was born on January 17, 1939, in South Amboy NJ, a daughter of the late May and Leon Piorkowski of South River. She was married for 64 years to Edward D. Glass, retired Professor of Food Science at Penn State who continues to reside in Las Cruces. She is also survived by her sister Judy Boruta of Palm Harbor Florida, and brother Leon Piorkowski of Seffner Florida; four children, Sherrie McAvoy, of John’s Island SC, David Glass of Apollo PA, Kristin Glass of Santa Fe NM, and Mark Glass of Las Cruces NM. She had seven grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. Joan was a graduate of South River High School, and studied at Douglass College in New Jersey and American University in Washington D.C. She completed her studies and received degrees in Home Economics 1960 and Elementary Education 1970 from Penn State. All four children were born between 1959 and 1965, and Joan was well known on campus for having one, two, or even three kids intow as she attended classes and tried her best to keep them quiet. Following graduation, she became a kindergarten and second grade school teacher at Lincoln Elementary School in Tyrone. She was an expert seamstress and made simplicity dresses for the girls that always matched just right. She was an avid cook and an encyclopedic keeper of recipes. She made her kids “clean their plates” before they could leave the table and made sure they always had clean and warm clothes. As teenagers she gave her children the freedom to get into trouble and enough common sense to stay out of it most of the time. She was a good mom and devoted wife, and when the grandchildren came along she helped with them too. A consummate hostess, she ran a bed and breakfast during Penn State football and graduation weekends, and enjoyed a loyal following of alumni and friends from around the country. During those years, the now grown-up children got a kick out of it when she stayed in a hotel and saved the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner so her own guests could have them. Joan was an avid reader of books and was well known to the librarians at the Schlow Centre Region Library and the Centre County Library in Bellefonte. In her later years she became notorious for trying get her hands on anything and everything available in large print. She also enjoyed a reputation for frequently writing letters to friends and family in her own hand which were usually short and sweet and very often a source of laughter, especially when they contained opinions about what to eat and how she thought you should cook it, new ideas about home decorating, or the very latest information about what soaps are best.Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any charitable contributions in Joan’s name be sent to the Schlow or Bellefonte library, or the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library in Las Cruces.