CARLISLE, PA ---- Joan Emma (Wilent) Mowery, 90, of Carlisle, PA passed away peacefully on Monday, August 24, 2026.
She was born November 6, 1935 in Philadelphia, PA, the daughter of the late Charles W. Wilent and Emma (nee Frank) Bauer and sister to the late Charles W. Wilent II.
A graduate of Frankford High School, Joan attended Penn State at University Park where she met Robert B. Mowery at a Phi Kappa Sigma event and they would marry in 1956 in Philadelphia. They moved to Arizona where Bob completed his Air Force flight training and Joan continued her studies at the University of Arizona. They moved back to Pennsylvania to the Cumberland County area where they first lived on a farm on Horners Road raising beef cattle, then to a cabin on the South Mountain, and then to their final home at Oak Ridge Road that they
designed and built together.
Joan continued her studies in public relations and media while raising their four daughters by taking classes at Dickinson College, Temple, Shippensburg Univ. and ultimately graduating from Penn State Capitol Campus with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities. She was involved in politics and media, having interned in the PA State Legislature and then working in programming at WGAL Channel 8.
Her love of fashion and merchandising was evident in her business pursuits over the years such as opening a charm school in Carlisle, teaching classes at Barbizon modeling school in Harrisburg, working as marketing director of the Carlisle Plaza Mall, and owning a bridal shop on Hanover Street.
Raising four girls kept Joan busy for over 30 years but she managed to stay engaged with her many interests. She was a lover of knowledge and could be found deep in thought reading articles about anything and everything. She was drawn to the arts with shelves lined with books about photography, fashion and design and she had an eye for it as evidenced in her well-dressed children and interior design sensibility where she always elevated their home’s decor on a budget. She also loved to be in the garden and later spent her time trying to outsmart the
booming deer population as well as the ticks that plagued her with many bouts of Lyme disease.
She was a member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and would take trips to their garden events as well as visit any historic museums that would feed her desire to better understand the past. She was always engaged in local politics and often worked the polling station.
She was a member of Allison (Carlisle) United Methodist Church throughout her life and dedicated much of her efforts later in life organizing and filling truckloads of donations to the Rosebud Sioux Reservation through Mission Central in Mechanicsburg. Joan was an affable and ambitious woman who made the most of her small-town life while taking care of her family and those she loved.
Surviving is her brother William (Lucy) Wilent of Ocean City, NJ with whom she loved to visit, allowing her to spend time at the shore which she found invigorating. Also surviving are her four daughters: Chandra Mowery Baird, San Francisco, CA, Tara L. (David) Getchonis, Natick, MA, Wenda L. (Ted) Schultz, Litchfield, NH, Jennifer M. (Brian) Marsh, Hoboken, NJ, eight grandchildren: Kelly Getchonis, Kerry Getchonis, Katherine (Kelly) Newman, Robert Craig
(Amanda) Schultz, Cleo (Dallas) Solomon, Karleigh Schultz, Lillian Marsh and Levi Marsh, and great grandchildren; Kalea Newman and Luka Newman. In addition to her parents, brother and husband, she was preceded in death by her brothers Richard and Robert Wilent.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Rosebud Sioux Project, c/o Mission Central, 5 Pleasant View Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services / 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit wilkinsonbeane.com.