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Joan “Cherry” Althea Chung, 78, passed away peacefully due to complications of Alzheimer’s on June 23, 2022. She transitioned peacefully in her sleep with family by her side. Joan grew up in Wakefield, Jamaica, the tenth of fourteen children in the Pottinger family. She had a wonderful childhood with her parents and many siblings before moving to Kingston to attend Ardenne High School. In Kingston, she lived with her older sister, known as Miss Daph, and her family. Miss Daph was a teacher, and her husband was a well-known principal at a Kingston area high school. Both Miss Daph and her husband were very well known and respected in the city. Joan was an extremely bright young woman who excelled at Ardenne High School. She got excellent grades in the math and sciences, along with her foreign language classes. A diligent student, she was very involved in student organizations, and had many friends. Joan was known to be very popular in high school, keeping up with the friends she made long into her life after she graduated and moved to the United States. She scored very high on her Cambridge Exam, an international college placement test accepted and valued by universities around the world, including MIT, Harvard and Cambridge. Due to her high test scores, she was promoted to advanced level schooling at Ardenne High School, which focused her curriculum on science and math in preparation for college. Following her advanced high school studies, she decided to pursue nursing, and was accepted to the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston. The University Hospital of the West Indies was the only school of its kind in the Caribbean. A very prestigious all-girls school, it was known to be rigorous and strict. Students studied through the day and worked during the nights and weekends on patients, all under the dutiful eyes of esteemed nurses. Joan received very good grades and did exceedingly well at UHWI, cultivating a love for medicine and caregiving. She was extremely dedicated to her education, working tirelessly on learning more and delving deep into her studies. In addition to her studies, Joan had quite the social life. She was very outgoing and had many friends. She was known to attend every dance on campus and was always the star of the show. She was famous for always looking polished and fashionable, sometimes sewing her own clothes when she wanted to wear a particular look. She was also known for being an excellent cook. Although students weren’t allowed to cook in the dorms, friends recall her using hot plates in the hallways and cooking curry goat and rice and peas to share with classmates on her hall. While attending the University Hospital of the West Indies, Joan was introduced to her future husband, Tony, by his future brother-in-law, Barry. They migrated to the United States in 1967, settling in Washington, DC. Her first nursing job in the United States was at the Washington Hospital Center (now known as MedStar). She worked multiple nursing jobs, often traveling from hospital to hospital as she and her husband Tony settled into their new life in the States. She and Tony lived in an apartment in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., when they had their first son, André. In 1971, Joan and Tony moved to Silver Spring after having their second child, Shane. Joan and Tony moved to a home on Whittington Terrace in Silver Spring, after their last child, Antoinette, was born. Joan was passionate about being a homeowner, and had long dreamed of owning her own home in the U.S. Finally in 1987, Joan and Tony purchased their first home on Jeffry Street in Silver Spring, which became a family hub and safe haven for her extended family. On Jeffry Street, they raised a third generation of nieces, nephews and grandchildren. Throughout this time, Joan had landed at Howard University Hospital, where she would spend a long, fruitful career of 40 years. At Howard, Joan worked in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, working with open heart patients, transplant, high speciality, and trauma patients. She worked nights at a very high-level, deeply committed to exploring more about her patients' conditions. She earned a tremendous amount of responsibility in the surgical care unit, sometimes diagnosing patients, a process very uncommon for nurses on that floor. Joan mentored many nurses during her time at Howard. She was committed to her mentees and had high expectations of them. She took special time and attention to advising them and making them feel valued at work. Many excellent nurses passed through her hands. Joan was extremely passionate about the importance of education. She saw it as the key to success and an avenue to improving one’s-self. Once she was in the United States, she worked very hard to earn her Bachelor’s degree, all while juggling work and raising a family. In 1985, the same year that André graduated from High School, Joan finally earned her Bachelor's degree from Bowie State in 1985. She later earned a Masters in Business Administration from Howard University. Toward the end of her career at Howard, Joan was an expert in the area of wound care. Doctors depended on her counsel and assistance. She had an excellent track record of healing her patients wounds, and was deeply passionate about affording her patients and their families dignity in their health. Joan retired from Howard University Hospital in 2013, at age 69. Following her retirement, she became dedicated to caring for her husband, who had become ill. She also cared for her young grandchildren, traveling from Silver Spring to Baltimore a few days a week while juggling her husband's doctors appointments. She also took on volunteer responsibilities at her church, including joining the choir and running errands where needed. She continued to socialize where she could, catching up with family and friends over long telephone calls. Joan was known for her magnetic, loving energy and her deep commitment to caring for others. She loved to travel, was an excellent dancer, and a master not only in medicine, but in the kitchen, on the sewing machine, and especially in her garden. She was a loving mother who not only cared for her own children, but many children in her family. She hosted all major family gatherings and holidays, often not making herself a plate until everyone had already eaten. Joan will be deeply missed by everyone who knew and loved her. She is survived by her children…. André Chung (wife, Kat Kelley-Chung), Shane Chung, and Antoinette Plummer (husband, Kevin Plummer). Also raised by her are Doug Killian, Camille Williams, considered siblings in the family. Grandchildren, Sierra Kelley-Chung, Kian Kelley-Chung, Greysen Plummer, Adrien Plummer, and Solana Plummer, and nieces and nephews, Marjorie Melbourne, Ebony Nicholson, Chris Williams, and Kobie Marsh.

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Joan Althea Chung

February 21, 1944 - June 23, 2022