Joan Sodaro Waller

Joan Ann Sodaro Waller died peacefully on July 26, 2026, with husband Bob at her side. Come August 16th, they would have been married for 74 years.

Joan was a wife, a mother of three (Peg, Tom and Jim), an elementary teacher, a grandmother to six, a great-grandmother to two, a volunteer extraordinary, and an author of seven books, the most recent being "Funny Things Happen on the Way to Old Age."

The warmth of her smile was so engaging that, like Mark Twain, she never met "a person she did not like." Among family, friends, nurses, aides and Health Care Center staff, that was her trademark.

Her Catholic faith was always an important part of her life. Whether it was teaching eighth grade catechism, or heading the St. Patrick, Urbana Parish Alter and Rosary Society, or promoting the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, she was in the forefront. Her passion was the promotion of a society called the "Divine Will" that promoted the writings of Louisa Picaretta and supported her canonization. She taught study groups on this subject in Clemson, SC and in The Villages, FL.

Travel was always an important part of her life's dream. This included family tent camping vacations, canoeing trips, and then later traveling three- quarters of the nation in a 16-foot camper named "Little House." Overseas adventures included visiting our daughter in Paris, enjoying river cruises in central Europe, and participating in religious trips to France, Italy, and Spain, climaxed by a two-week excursion to the Middle East, featuring Israel, and Egypt.

Visitation will take place on Tuesday, August 4th from 2 until 4 p. m. at Hiers-Baxley Funeral Home located at 3975 Wedgewood Lane in The Villages. On Wednesday, August 5th at ten o'clock, Mass will be held at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lady Lake. Burial will take place at the new Catholic cemetery, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Cemetery, located at 5010 Holy Rosary Loop in Oxford (adjacent to The Villages).