Joan A. Champagne

COLONIE – Joan Ann (Butsch) Champagne, passed away peacefully and with dignity, after a brief illness on Thursday, April 2, 2009. She was born on June, 2, 1939 and raised in Schenectady. She was a 1957 graduate of Mont Pleasant High School and attended nursing school, graduating with distinction from the former St. Peter's Hospital School of Nursing in 1960. Joan's career in geriatric nursing, always in a supervisory role, spanned more than 40 years. Locally, Joan worked with residents of Albany County Nursing Home, the former Silver Haven Nursing Home and Daughters of Sarah. She was a member of St. Peter's Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association for 49 years. Joan was the only child of the late Joseph and Dorothy (Thelen) Butsch. She is the cherished wife of 48 years to Robert J. Champagne whom she married on September 3, 1960. Joan is the beloved mother of Paul (Ann Olsen) Champagne, Marc (Giuliana Iannuzzi) Champagne and Lisa (Noah Francis) Champagne. She is the loving grandmother of Olivia, Emilia, Giada, Brit, Dominick and Caroline. Also surviving are her cousins, Lois Brennan, Jerry Brucker, and Frank Brucker; her brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and several nieces and nephews who were all very dear to her heart. Joan will be missed and fondly remembered by her husband and family.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. at St. Clare's Church, Colonie. There will be no calling hours. Interment will be in Memory's Garden, Colonie. It is the family's wish that in her memory and in lieu of flowers, an act of kindness be made to someone in need.