Joan Nickey (Herrin) EstesGREENWOD
Joan Nickey (Herrin) Estes of Greenwood, IN left this earthly life to celebrate her new life on January 28, 2021. Her children and sisters were at her side in spirit. Joan, 85, loved her roles as wife, mother, grandmother, homemaker, nurse, and devout church member. She delighted in gathering family together for holidays and other special occasions. She loved to cook and was an avid gardener with a special fondness for Iris, Daylilies, and many other perennials. Joan was blessed during her life to have had the opportunity to travel the world with her family and friends.
Joan was born on August 10, 1935 in Elwood, IN with her twin, Judy. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jacob, and Margaret (Bambrough) Nickey. She married Gene Herrin in September 1955. Gene preceded Joan in death on December 24, 1994. On November 16, 2005, Joan married Floyd Estes who also preceded her in death on March 31, 2019.
She is survived by her three children: Robert Herrin (Sheri) and Julie Muncy (Chuck), John Herrin (Christy). Four stepchildren include: Carol Pahlke, Darrel Estes (Connie) and Kevin Estes and Cheri Piercefield (Stan); three sisters: twin, Judy Wilson, Kathryn Nickey and Jenise Baber and sister-in-law Jane Meissen, and fifteen grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.
Joan graduated from Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in 1956. In her fifty-year nursing career, she made many contributions to nursing education and health care management. Early in her career, she served as Chairman of the Health Occupations Advisory Board for Central Nine Vocational-Technical School and was instrumental in one of the first Nurse Aide Training courses in the state of Indiana. Joan was the founder of Herrin Associates, a long-term health care management consulting firm, in 1982. The company provided comprehensive consulting services in Indiana and nationwide for over 25 years. During this period, she was appointed by two Indiana Governors to serve on the Indiana Health Facilities Council. In 2006, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Leading Age, the Indiana Not-For-Profit Health Care Organization, and was only the second woman to receive it in forty years, and the only nurse. She was Vice-President of Health Services for a national management firm which provided services across the country and later was President and co-owner of the Parke County Nursing home for several years.
Joan was an active and loyal member of Abundant Grace and Risen Lord Lutheran Churches in Greenwood and served in all areas of ministry from Sunday School to Council leader and Elder. Joan served on the Social Ministry Committee and Task Force on Aging for the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Lutheran Church. She served on the Board of Directors of Mulberry Lutheran Home, Providence Health Care (Sr. of Providence Convent), and Hildegard Health Care (Sr. of St. Benedict Convent).
Joan enjoyed playing bridge with her sisters and others, meeting with the Red Hat Club, the Greenwood Women’s Club, and had an avid interest in genealogy projects for her family and those of her husband’s family and proud to be a member of Indiana Pioneers.
There will be a private gathering for the interment of Joan’s ashes at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens and a celebration of life will be announced at a later date. The family would like to express a special thanks to the Emergency Room and COVID care unit staff at St. Francis Hospital for their sensitive provision of care and communications with the family during her final hours. Memorials may be sent to Lutheran Outdoor Ministries-Indiana-Kentucky, 5215 N. 459 West, Angola, IN 46703.
Arrangements have been entrusted to G. H. Herrmann Madison Avenue Funeral Home, 5141 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana. We encourage you to share photographs, memories and condolences with the family at www.ghherrmann.com.
