Joan Marie Lechowich, 83, of Salem and Blacksburg, Virginia, passed away peacefully after enduring a year of serious health issues surrounded by much of her family on Wednesday, August 23.

Joan was born on November 16, 1933, in Massachusetts to the late Ronald and Irene (Arsenault) MacDonald. From an early age, Joan loved school and to travel. Some of her other interests were politics, jazz music and pop culture. She was an independent woman that loved to learn; she attended college for two years studying chemistry at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and that is where she met her late husband, Richard “Dick” Lechowich. Joan and Dick enjoyed a long marriage of 24 years in which they had five children together.

She was a wonderful mother who put family first, but still pursued her interests and spent time with a tight group of friends. Once her children were grown, Joan was able to pursue her love of travel and continued to enjoy time spent with her friends. She also enjoyed her time spent as a pharmacy tech for 20 years.

Along with her parents, Joan was preceded in death by her former husband, Richard Victor Lechowich; younger sister, Jane Hawes; and eldest grandson, ILT Ivan Lechowich, US Army, KIA.

Left to cherish her memory are her children and spouses, Ronald Lechowich, Richard and Gina Lechowich, Steven Lechowich, Karen and Randy Lewis and Ellen and Robert Machado; grandchildren, Henry Lechowich, Erika Lechowich-Ragland, Greta Lechowich, Annika Lechowich, Brett Lewis, Zachary Turner, Raegan Turner and Max Machado; and great-granddaughter, Natalie Lechowich.

The family will receive friends from 10 until 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 1, 2017 at John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home in Salem. A memorial service will follow at 11 a.m. at the funeral home with Father Louis Benoit officiating. Online condolences may be expressed at www.johnmoakey.com.