Joann was born in April of 1932 in Crescent City and died July 25th, 2018, at her home in McKinleyville, after a brief illness.

Joann attended Trinidad Elementary School, Arcata High School (Class of 1949) and Humboldt State University, where she met her future husband Bill McKenzie.

Bill and Joann married in the early 1950s and began a life full of work, tending to children, and, in the moments left in the day, having a good time. Their children grew up in the wide spaces above the Mad River, and in her home there was always a vase of flowers from her garden, music on the hifi and friends at the kitchen table.

Bill and Joann were part of the group influential in the construction of St. Mary’s School and charter members of Christ the King Catholic Church.

She was also supportive of Bill’s work with the Arcata Fire Department.

Joann worked at Happy Hill’s Clothing Store and Mad River Community Hospital in the surgical department, where she was affectionately known as “Mama Jo.” After Bill died in 1994, Joann and Bob Bugbee connected. A relationship spanning more than 20 years, of mutual caring and support, a cherished sharing of life together: celebrations and losses, weddings, graduations, and sporting events of grandchildren, trips to Hawaii, Trinity Lake, and Arizona, the Giants and Golden State Warriors, and all the events related to their blending of two families. She was short but mighty, a joker and a tease even in the last days of her life.

Joann is survived by her sweetheart Bob Bugbee, her sister Toni Dobrec, her children Denise McKenzie and her husband Ed Emmons, Leslie Patrick, Bill McKenzie and his fiance Christine Silver, and Mary Dawn Ford and her husband Merritt, her grandchildren Kelsey, Dawson, Whitney, Blair, Bailey, Casey, McKenzie, William, Karli, McKenna, and Tanner, as well as many close relatives and friends.

Joann was preceded in death by her husband, Bill, her parents Victor Dobrec and Mary Mattz Dobrec Gray, her daughter Kelly McKenzie, brothers Victor and Bob Dobrec, and sister Carmen Delao.

The family would like to thank Dr. Ellen Mahoney, the staff at St. Joseph Hospital, and Hospice of Humboldt for their kind and compassionate care.

Her vibrant spirit, tender heart, and sass will be celebrated at Christ the King Catholic Church in McKinleyville, Sunday, August 12th, 2018, at 2 p.m., with a reception to follow at the parish hall.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Joann McKenzie’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.