Joan Shields

Joan (Patterson) Shields, age 93, passed away on December 14, 2022.  Beloved wife of Joseph  Shields of Munhall; Loving mother of Cindi (Dean) Floback of Portland, OR, Kimberly (Jeff) Shields Tuttle of West Chester, PA, and Daniel (Lidija) Shields of Marshall, Twp. PA; Cherished grandmother of Jordan, Matthew, Dylan, Jesse and Monet; Dear sister of the late Agnes Hogg and Mary Lee Snyder and survived by siblings Janice Lebedda, Lee Patterson and Judi Murray.

She was born in 1929 in Pittsburgh, PA to Leo and Agnes Patterson. She was the third of six children and was raised in a loving family in Munhall, PA.  Her parents instilled a deep faith in God, a strong work ethic and a love for education in Joan and her siblings, which served her well throughout her life. Joan graduated from Munhall High School in 1947 and with encouragement from her family, she proudly received her nursing degree from St. Joseph’s School of Nursing in 1949. She began her nursing career at St Joseph’s Hospital in Pittsburgh’s South Side and continued for the next 40 years holding positions of increasing responsibility.  She ended her career as the Director of Nursing at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, PA.  Joan had a deep and abiding passion for helping patients.  She was at her best when she was helping patients and their family’s withit’s difficult medical challenges.  

Joan married the love of her life, Joseph Shields in 1955.  Shortly after their first child Cindy was born, they moved to University Park in Monroeville, PA where they lived for 55 years.  There they successfully raised three children (Cindy Floback, Kim Tuttle and Dan Shields). Joan loved a clean, orderly, quiet house but accepted all of the friends, sleepovers, and rock band practices with grace (even when she worked night shifts!). She kindly accepted the pets her children frequently dragged home including a collie that shed a dog's worth of hair daily, a vindictive cat that liked to bite people, and a plethora of rodents and wildlife many of which escaped in the house.  When they finally decided to downsize and sell their family home, Dan and his wife Lidija built them a lovely little apartment in their home. They happily spent their remaining years there with friends, family and grandchildren. 

A Memorial Mass will be held on Wednesday, December 28, 2022 at 10 AM in St. Therese Church, St. Thomas the Apostles Parish. Inurnment at Calvary Cemetery to follow.  Arrangements are entrusted to George Irvin Green Funeral Home, Inc.