To view the funeral service on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 11:00amEST, please use the following link:

http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/87814

Joan Denise Clark Gantt was born in Norfolk on May 29th, 1951, to hard-working parents, Dennis and Kathleen Clark. Her mother was a member of the Intensive Care Unit Nursing Staff at DePaul Hospital in Norfolk, while her father operated four different public parking lots in downtown Norfolk. She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School with the class of 1969 and attended Norfolk State University, graduating in 1973 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.

As the only girl growing up surrounded by her brothers, Joan took on a leadership role early in life. Those leadership skills she had developed earlier were consistently on display as an adult. She managed the family business, the Underground Restaurant in downtown Norfolk, later renamed O'Hara's Reef Restaurant. When that business closed during the redevelopment of the downtown area, Joan relocated to Maryland where she was the manager of an AT&T store in the Washington, DC area. From 2003 until 2015, she was an employee of the Federal Government and served as a supervisor at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Joan really enjoyed traveling with her friends Brenda Boyd and Sylvia Stiff Briley. Although Joan was Lutheran, she enjoyed attending Methodist and Baptist services as well.

Joan was predeceased by her beloved parents, and her brothers, Kelvin Clark and Barry Wilson. She was deeply saddened by the passings of Kelvin's three children, Pricilla CoCo Clark, Kelvina Tabitha Clark and Kelvin Amos Clark.

Precious memories will linger in the hearts of her son, Cameron E. Gantt, the love of her life; her devoted brother, Dennis Edward Clark, Jr.; her brother Kevin "Pete" Wilson of Winchester; her nephew, Steven Wesley Clark (LaQuita Clark); grandnieces and grandnephews Trevor Clark, Imani Clark and Steven Wesley Clark, Jr.; her beloved cousins who were much more like sisters, Julia McCormick Mason (Robert) and Carolyn Clark Darden and a host of other beloved nieces, nephews and cousins.