Obituary: Joan Chantler

In 1976, Joan met Robert Jenkens and married in 1979. Together they moved to White Salmon, Washington, and began building a home in the Snowden area. As the house progressed, she established her own business which she named “Mountain Sewen.” She used her large basement to house her business and created recreational gear and clothing for mountain climbing, cross country skiing, and hiking. Occasionally you could see Joan with a makeshift (and immense) pack on her back full of her products, skiing down her snow-encumbered driveway to mee the UPS man, or find on her kitchen table bowls of water with swaths of fabric in them to test for water resistance. During that time, Joan also became a student of nature. She learned to love the natural flora and fauna of the area and became a Master Gardner. She enjoyed Wild About Nature events provided by the White Salmon Library and had regular nature discussions with the Nature Lovers Book Club. Joan also liked to dance and act in the Hood River Lions Follies, often devoting hours upon hours in rehearsals and many years making multitudes of very creative and effective costumes.

Before closing her business in 1996, Joan went back to school to earn a teaching degree. She then became a teacher, first at Glenwood High School before she found her passionate niche at the Wishram School in Wishram, Washington. The flexibility of the small school environment allowed Joan’s creative talents to flourish. In addition to her full-time teaching responsibilities, Joan often stayed after hours working with students in preparation for plays that she had introduced them to, like Shakespeare, where her students gleefully and enthusiastically participated. Not only did she rewrite parts of well-known plays to fit student needs and did the directing, she provided all the costuming, often burning midnight oil sewing. She drew staff and students alike to her productions. As if she wasn’t busy enough, Joan started taking classes and earned a master’s degree in special education to better serve her students. Joan was never lucky enough to have children of her own and found great joy and fulfillment in working with her students; her enthusiasm was infections and drew the kids in to whatever project she dreamed up.

Joan loved costumes and she loved dressing people up to have fun, and that made Halloween a very special time. She continued making costumes and called her new venture “Costumes to Suit Your Fancy.” It didn’t take long before she had amassed so many that she was able to open a costume shop in The Dalles, Oregon, to share her creations. (And yes, she was doing this while teaching full time, getting a second degree and putting on a play.)

In 2005, mutual friends introduced Joan to William Wright. The pair soon became life partners. They shared 20 years of hiking, gardening and cross-country skiing. A highlight of every year was a trip to Ashland for the Shakespearean Festival. And after 20 wonderful years together, Joan was joyfully pleased to marry Bill on Sept. 13, 2025, at the old St. Paul’s Chapel in The Dalles, surrounded by family and friends. Joan’s loving nature was mirrored by those who shared the wedding and reception. It was a wonderful time to see and feel a life that was so freely given and well lived.

Joan passed in The Dalles, surrounded by her stepdaughter Elizabeth Betsy Wells, step-grandson Kitt Lockwood, step-granddaughter Roslynn Wells and husband Bill. At Joan’s request, she was buried at Large River Natural, a beautiful, well-suited resting place for her loving, caring and imaginative nature. Joan’s kindness, warm smile and eloquently given wisdom will be missed.

A celebration of life is planned at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in The Dalles on May 16 at 1 p.m.