Joan B. Rawles was born on July 14, 1935, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to William Thomas Branen and Mary Helen Auchmuty. An only child, she grew up in the Philadelphia area, and attended Friends’ Central School in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania where she was introduced to the Quaker way of life. After graduating from high school, she initially attended Connecticut College, then transferred to Swarthmore College. After graduation, she moved to Claremont, California, to begin graduate school. She was admitted to membership in Claremont Monthly Meeting on January 19, 1964.
Joan met her first husband, Ralph “Wann” Rawles in Claremont. Joan and Wann had two sons: Jody Rawles (1963) and Drew Rawles (1967).
Joan got her teaching certificate and Master’s degree and subsequently began teaching high school English and Literature. She later began teaching English and Literature at Laverne College where she met her second husband, Thomas A. Davis, who also taught at Laverne.
In 1975 Joan and Tom tired of the politics of the small university and decided to take a break from teaching and move to the Central Valley farm where Tom grew up. They relocated to the small central California valley farming town of McFarland. Joan pursued multiple interests while in McFarland and eventually returned to the public-school education system as a career counselor.
In 1985, Joan and Tom moved to Santa Cruz, California. Joan worked briefly at Santa Cruz High School but for the majority of her time worked for a Senior Housing nonprofit. She transferred her membership to Santa Cruz Monthly Meeting on May 5, 1986. Joan and Tom became actively involved in the Quaker community of northern California especially with the Ben Lomond Quaker Center and Santa Cruz Friends Meeting. Joan and Tom were also Friends in Residence at Pendle Hill in the Spring Term, 2009.
Joan was a very active part of the Santa Cruz Meeting, serving on Ministry and Oversight as well as Nominating Committees. She helped form and Clerk the Community Building committee. She led Sacred Dance and created the sharing of life stories by members and attenders in Meeting. She contributed in many ways to the life of Santa Cruz meeting, especially by initiating the presentation and recording of life stories of members of the Meeting and teaching sacred dance.
Joan was drawn to sacred circle dance during the 1990s and went to Findhorn Foundation in Scotland to study with the founders of this movement. Sacred circle dance became much of her spiritual journey, and it was her ministry to the Quaker world and beyond. She regularly offered sacred circle dance workshops at Pacific Yearly Meeting, and at other monthly and yearly meeting gatherings around the country. She loved to offer sacred circle dance for weddings, birthdays, and other celebrations. For several years she also later taught sacred circle dance at the International House in Davis.
Singing with the Threshold Choir more than 15 years was a joy for Joan, as a way of ‘expressing kindness made audible’. This volunteer community service of small teams of singers offers songs of comfort and love for people approaching end of life. Joan first joined the Threshold Choir in Santa Cruz, and then continued singing with the Davis Threshold singers for as long as she was able.
Another interest of Joan’s was ‘Sharing our Stories, Sharing our Lives’, a program she offered at weekend workshops, and to both Santa Cruz Meeting and Davis Friends Meeting.
Tom and Joan parted ways in 2010, and Joan sought a new community, moving to Davis, California. She transferred her membership from Santa Cruz Monthly Meeting to Davis Monthly Meeting on Sept. 13, 2015. In Davis, Joan continued her ministry with Sacred Circle Dance and Threshold Choir. She attended both Davis Friends Meeting and the Unitarian Church. Through the Unitarian Church, she met her third partner, Douglas McColm a widower, retired UC Davis Professor of Physics, and a Unitarian. Although both were in declining health, Joan Rawles and Doug McColm held a commitment ceremony on Feb. 29, 2020 under the care of Davis Friends Meeting in recognition and honor of their love and support for each other. Their ceremony included a circle dance around Joan and Doug, led by dance friends of Joan.
Joan’s interests included DOGS, DOGS, DOGS, and some cats, music, and theater. She had traveled widely to many international locales including Africa, Bali, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Scotland, Australia, France, and Italy,
In March of 2021, Joan’s health deteriorated to the point she could no longer live independently, and she moved to Long Beach, CA to be closer to family. Joan died on March 31, 2022, in a memory care facility in the close care of her son Jody Rawles.
Joan is survived by her two sons Jody, his wife Somaly, daughters Karena and Kiri (Long Beach, CA), and Drew, Drew’s wife Debra, and their children Gavi, Bod, Sonora, and Tioga (Oakland, CA), as well as her partner Doug McColm.
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