BANGOR – Joan “Jo” Pederson, 81, died July 27, 2011, at her home. She was born May 18, 1930, in Bangor, daughter of Leroy Wilfred and Florence Evelyn (Burns) Cole.
Joan was educated at the University of Maine, Orono, and at Eastern Maine General Hospital School of Nursing, now Eastern Maine Medical Center. She was the director of the Practical Nursing Education Program at Eastern Maine Vocational Technical Institute from July 1971 to September 1986, and served as president of Maine State Alliance for the Mentally Ill from 1986 to 1989. She was an advocate for rights of the mentally ill at the state and national level. Joan was a member of Phi-Mu Sorority at the University of Maine and was a great supporter of Bangor Humane Society. She will be remembered as a caring and supportive mother, homemaker and healthcare professional.
Surviving are her two sons, Gary Pederson of Newton, Mass., and Ian Pederson of Bangor; three sisters, Jane Dickson, Barbara Smith and Pat Cole, all of Bangor; nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by one son, Jeffery Joe Pederson and Everett O. Pederson, the father of her children.
The family invites relatives and friends to share conversation and refreshments 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, at the Family Reception Center of Brookings-Smith, 163 Center St., Bangor. Private interment will be at Pine Grove Cemetery, Bangor. Those who wish to remember Jo in a special way may make gifts in her memory to Community Health and Counseling Services, 42 Cedar St., P.O. Box 425, Bangor, ME 04401. Condolences to the family may be expressed at
www.BrookingsSmith.com.