Joan Kathelene Vandergriff was born on July 18, 1945, in Denton, Texas, to Junior Lee and Azell Morgan Vandergriff. She was the oldest of five siblings.

Joan is survived by her sisters: Barbara (Alan) Youngblood of Granbury, TX; Karen Utter of Azle, TX; and Debbie (David) Frizzelle of Granbury, TX; her children: Dana (Rick) Malone of Weatherford, TX; Darla (Ronnie) McCarty of Mt. Olive, MS; Dathan (Olivia) Wedel of Decatur, TX; and Darin (Lorena) Wedel of Fort Worth; nine grandchildren: Nathan Malone of Weatherford; Danielle Malone (fiancé Jason) of Dallas; Christopher (Aarika) McCarty and Caleb McCarty, of Rifle, CO; Cameron (Skylar) McCarty of Forest, MS; and Cara (Kyle) McCarty Smith of Columbia, MS; Erika (Timothy) Wedel Sebastian of Avon, OH; Jada Wedel of Grants Pass, OR; and Elijah Wedel of Decatur, TX. She is also survived by 10 great-grandchildren: Zayden, Maddox, and Zendaya Malone; Grayson McCarty; Crue, Noa Cate, and Haven McCarty; Savannah and Jace Sebastian; and Heidi Klein Smith; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Lonnie Vandergriff; two brothers-in-law, David Lee Long and Loyall Utter; her oldest grandson and first grandchild, Ethan Malone; her nephew, Delton Long; her great-niece, Kara Utter; a grandson-in-love, Zachary Williams; and several aunts and uncles.

She was of the Pentecostal faith and attended church at Shady Grove in Denton under the pastorship of Rev. Terry Johnson, who is speaking at her funeral, and Northside Assembly in Fort Worth. Her longest church tenure was at House of Prayer, where she attended for several decades under pastorships of family members including her father, Junior Vandergriff; her brother-in-law, Loyall Utter; and her son, Dathan Wedel.

Joan married in 1961 and lived in Grand Prairie for several years, where she enjoyed raising her children and homemaking. Dear friends, Dave and Susie Burke, introduced Joan to Nature's Sunshine in 1975. After Nature's Sunshine became the first organization to encapsulate herbs, she invested $8 in 1976 to become a distributor; behind Susie, she was the second in Texas and opened her first business in her garage in Grand Prairie. She found a need and filled it, and her distributorship with NSP thrived as she eventually became a Senior National Manager, where she worked providing expertise in various capacities for over 50 years. Joan received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from Nature's Sunshine in 2012 for her exemplary work training over 500 managers, serving on the Product Advisory Committee and working as a Master Herbalist.

Following divorce in 1985, she moved to Colleyville to be closer to family, where she also opened her business, Country Herbs, in a storefront on Glade Road. After outgrowing that location, she moved to Colleyville Boulevard where her business became the first tenant to open space in the town's first shopping center, Village Park. Country Herbs operated from that location for 16 years where she helped countless individuals with natural remedies for their health following completion of her Doctor of Naturopathy degree with Trinity School of Natural Health in June of 1993. By 2001, the desire for education on alternative health increased with Colleyville's population, and she opened Alternative Health Shoppe at 710 Glade Road in the home of Colleyville's first Mayor, Ernest R. Eudaly, where she lovingly restored the property and maintained it until her retirement in 2013. Joan traveled and spoke for NSP nationally and internationally, helping people with education, training, and resources on alternative healing. She authored the Nature's Treasure Chest in 1991 with over 300,000 copies sold, to date, and provided consulting expertise to many individuals worldwide.

Joan enjoyed gardening, traveling, tending to her roses, listening to gospel music, finding antiques, and was an avid organ player. She also played the accordion in church, where she enjoyed being an active member, and was involved in mission work. She was a giver in addition to being a wonderful help to many in relation to alternative and natural healthcare and was great about learning from others as she enjoyed asking questions. Joan was passionate about helping those who were hurting and loved sharing the healing power of herbs and holistic treatments. She helped many individuals for free. Joan especially loved her family and was glad she was able to meet many of her great-grandchildren.

The family extends a very special and heartfelt thank you to Sandra McCanless, a long-time family friend, who provided diligent, kind, and supportive care to Joan in the last year and a half of her life.

The family also thanks the wonderful nurses, techs, and staff at Heritage Place in Decatur for their exceptional care of Joan in the last month and a half of her life.

A visitation with family will be held on Sunday, March 23 from 2-4PM at DeBerry Funeral Home in Denton. The funeral will be held Monday, March 24 at 1:00PM at Faith Tabernacle Assembly of God at 1101 Audra Lane, Denton, TX with Pastor Terry Johnson, Pastor Randy Snow, and her long-time friend, Sister Nancy Marler officiating. Joan will be buried near her parents at Bluebonnet Hills Cemetery in Colleyville, TX. Pallbearers will be her grandsons and sons-in-law: Nathan Malone, Christopher McCarty, Caleb McCarty, Cameron McCarty, Ronnie McCarty, and Rick Malone.

The world is a better place because Joan lived, and we have no doubts she was overjoyed to make it to Heaven and be reunited with her parents and other loved ones gone on before. She is happy and whole with Jesus, the Author and Finisher of her faith.