NEW MEXICO
On Dec. 12, 2015, JoAnn Elizabeth (Sabin) McMillen left this world to begin her next great adventure. JoAnn (or Jo, as she liked to be called) was born on Aug. 25, 1931, to Mary Louise (Snyder) and Leon Sabin, and raised in Randolph, Ohio, as an only, spoiled child (her words!).
Jo attended Kent State University, graduating as a laboratory technician. Soon after, she married Ralph D. McMillen and worked as a lab tech until deciding to devote herself full-time to raising their three children. The McMillen family moved to Rockland County, N.Y., from Ohio in the mid-’60s. What a wonderful new world! In New York, Jo enjoyed the cultural diversity and artistic opportunities. She took many classes at Rockland Center for the Arts, honing her painting skills. She was part of many exhibitions at the center, and was known for her abstract land and waterscapes.
In the 1970s, Jo fulfilled her dream of living in Maine — initially part time and then, in the late ’80s, full time after Ralph retired. From her home in Sullivan, Jo continued painting, always inspired by the views from her studio of the sunsets over Taunton Bay. In 2011, Ralph and Jo left “the coast of Maine” to move to “the top of the sand pile” in New Mexico, to be closer to their children. Jo had never envisioned herself living in the desert, but she found the scenery and the artwork of the Southwest fascinating.
On Nov. 22, 2015, the day of her 64th wedding anniversary, Jo suffered a massive stroke. Three weeks later, she made the decision to see what awaited her beyond this realm, and was transferred home on hospice. The next day she died peacefully at home, surrounded by her family. Jo took her final trip to Maine with her family the following summer, where her ashes were scattered in the nooks and crannies of the shoreline outside the family home in Sullivan.
JoAnn is survived by husband Ralph (Bernalillo, N.M.), daughter Michelle (Placitas, N.M., married to Mark Belill), son Mark (Monument, Colo., married to Marisa (DeModena) and son Jon (Valley Center, Calif., married to Christina (Goodman). She also leaves behind two granddaughters, Elyse and Brooke (Guess) McMillen, daughters of Mark and Marisa.
We all miss you, Josie!